What Should We Do About Prescription Medication Abuse?

Written By: Dr. Stephen F. Grinstead, LMFT, ACRPS, CADC-II Date: February 17th, 2010. Topic: Member Blogs.

The solutions to the problem of prescription medication abuse, especially diversion, are complex and need to be addressed not only by law enforcement, but also the healthcare industry. With the quantity of Schedule II and Schedule III drugs continuing to increase significantly, the problem is only going to worsen. Collaboration between law enforcement and healthcare providers is crucial.

Only by working together can appropriate solutions be found to use an effective tool like the monitoring program without it leading to the frightening predictions of the factions that oppose such measures. In addition, healthcare providers and law enforcement personnel need to be trained to look for the early warning signs of both drug diversion and addiction.

This can be accomplished by using strategic research-based training protocols that educate healthcare providers and law enforcement professionals about discovering which patients are illegally diverting medication for profit, as well as focusing on prevention, intervention, and appropriate treatment strategies for legitimate addiction issues. It is very important to have a strong focus regarding the ways in which healthcare providers and law enforcement can best collaborate when there is obvious criminal drug diversion activity.

I realize this is only a partial solution, but it is one that is desperately needed. Each state should also form multi-disciplinary task forces that include all the segments of law enforcement and healthcare who are working together to combat this problem and save lives. Educating the public, especially young children, about how to avoid an addiction trap is critical. In addition, we need to remember that although the vast majority of people with chronic pain may safely use pain medication, as many as 8.6 million people in 1999, to 11.7 million people in 2003, who used prescription drugs also suffered from coexisting abuse or addiction problems—these people need help, not incarceration. However, people who are illegally diverting prescription medication for personal profit and greed need to be tracked down and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

To learn more about effective chronic pain management check out my article The Need for Multidisciplinary Chronic Pain Management that you can download for free on our Article page.

You can learn more about the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System at our website www.addiction-free.com. If you or a loved one is undergoing chronic pain management, especially if you’re in recovery or believe you may have a medication or other mental health problem and you want to learn more effective chronic pain management tools, please go to our Publications page and check out my books; especially the Addiction-Free Pain Management® Recovery Guide: Managing Pain and Medication in Recovery. To purchase this book please Click Here.

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