This week, pharmacists in Portland, Oregon started handing out slips of paper with every prescription filled to notify patients that all prescriptions are now being tracked in a statewide database. The prescription drug database allows pharmacists to identify patterns of possible prescription drug abuse or addiction. They can also detect “doctor shopping” – the practice of going from one doctor to another to obtain prescription drugs to abuse or sell.
Some Oregon residents and legislators were concerned about privacy issues but these concerns were overridden by the serious prescription drug abuse epidemic in Portland and other Oregon cities. The Oregonian reported that prescription drug overdose deaths have doubled in the past five years and now far exceed heroin overdose deaths.
Prescription drugs such as OxyContin, Vicodin and other painkillers are not only dangerous in their own right, they have also become gateway drugs to heroin use.
Prescription drug abuse has become the second most common form of drug abuse nationwide. Teens and young adults often abuse medications they find in their family medicine cabinet or at the bedside of a sick or injured relative before turning to cheaper but more dangerous drugs like heroin.
If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction, you need a Portland, Oregon drug rehab solution. No matter how bad the situation has gotten, we can help.
Riverbend Retreat has been successfully treating Oregon residents for years. Addiction requires long term drug rehabilitation. There is no quick fix.
Call our intake specialists now for the solution. Call 1-800-473-0930.
