Free Republic

Three tribes lead the best practice initiative treating the epidemic of painkiller addiction in Native America, Oklahoma, the nation's leader in painkiller addiction. Treating all adults, Medicaid. Last month the Center for Disease Control called prescription painkiller addiction an epidemic in the country, identifying Oklahoma as leading the nation in both the addiction and related deaths. It is only fitting that the battle against such addiction in "Native America" be led by three tribal owned clinics, Absentee Shawnee Counseling Services, OKC; Keetoowah Cherokee Treatment Services, Tulsa; and Quapaw Counseling Services, Miami. Generally speaking, prescription painkillers are opiates. There are 14...

We are facing a tsunami of painkiller addiction that will flood our criminal justice, health care, behavioral health, and social services resources. Illicit online pharmacies have made prescriptions cheap and easy to acquire, fueling a massive wave of addi...ction that we actually have not seen yet. SAMHSA estimates that over 5% of the nations population, 12 years and older, are using painkillers, nowhere more prevalent than the heartland with Oklahoma leading the nation at 6.7%. Opioid addiction used to be thought of as primarily heroin addiction, but that is changing rapidly. The masses currently addicted to prescription painkillers have conveniently...

Exponential growth in addiction met with a dramatic reduction in supply, creates a situation where a large number of people get sick and desperate. Prices spike as addicts clamor to find the drugs they need so badly. Alternative, and often illegal, methods for raising funds are employed. Progressively risky behavior and criminal associations occur. People lose jobs, lose housing, and lose families, dismantling a network of support systems that are challenging, if not impossible, to rebuild. The magnitude of people potentially involved will send shockwaves through the criminal justice, social services, health care, and criminal justice service delivery systems as...

SAMHSA announced in March 2008 that Oklahoma topped the nation in prescription painkiller addiction. Effective law enforcement strategies by the DEA and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs have abruptly shut down many of the online pharmacies, loose physician prescription practices, and multiple doctor sourcing. The result is a dramatic reduction in supply. The huge growth in painkiller addiction fueled by cheap and easy supply is being faced with a shutdown in supply. The result will be a sudden overwhelming number of sick and desperate people. Before we become too judgmental of such people, let us not forget...

<p>WASHINGTON - The federal government is considering tightening restrictions on narcotic pain relievers containing hydrocodone, a move that would greatly complicate pain relief therapy for millions of Americans.</p> <p>Literally the opioid of the masses, medications containing hydrocodone - - Vicodin, Lortab, Norco and many others - were prescribed by doctors more than 100 million times last year, more than any other prescription drug. Opioids are synthetic forms of opiates.</p>