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| DOC Battles Pill Abuse In CA |
| By informant.kalwnews.org |
| Published: 08/31/2010 |
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Prescription drug abuse is an open secret in much of the United States. Reported abuse of pharmaceutical drugs like OxyContin, Xanax and Vicodin has skyrocketed in recent years: From 2004 to 2008, emergency room visits for the non-medical use of such opioid drugs shot up 111 percent. A federal survey found that one in five high schoolers said they had taken OxyContin, codeine or other painkillers without a prescription. Treatment advocates and law enforcement officials say the problem is exacerbated by unscrupulous doctors and pharmacies writing prescriptions for anyone who walks through their door, regardless of whether they need medicine or not. The Drug Enforcement Agency claims these practitioners are the main source for pills in California’s two urban hubs, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Even though the state Department of Justice has a mandatory program that requires pharmacies to submit prescription information to a statewide database that is accessible to law enforcement, fake scrips are still issued with alarming frequency. Today’s Los Angeles Times reported on an investigation by federal and state law enforcement into Hsiu-Ying “Lisa” Tseng, a Rowland Heights doctor who prescribed painkillers to at least four young men whose deaths are all allegedly linked with pharmaceutical abuse. Read More. |
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