MindN theMental

After reading the article below I am still stunned by the blindness to the obvious, these are *PRESCRIPTION DRUGS* THEY ARE BEING PRESCRIBED! BY WHOM? DOCTORS AND IN MIND BOGGLING MASS QUANTITIES!!! Complaisant, negligent or just plain greedy?
Greed has to be the main reason "Doctors" will risk so much. On the other hand so very few get called out on it, I guess the ones who do over prescribe feel the odds are in their favor of not getting investigated and/or prosecuted. Negligent comes more into play with non-narcotic over-medicating ie psyc meds but, that is another topic.



Recently, it was announced that Sarasota County led the state in accidental prescription drug deaths for 2008.

To help reverse that trend, several Sarasota County substance abuse prevention groups are gathering data and comparing notes to reduce the prevalence of drug usage, drug-related deaths and hospitalizations -- in the area. They're starting with teens.

At a recent meeting of North Port's Community Health Action Team Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention subcommittee, members talked about the need for a way to encourage local teens to stay drug-free.

"It goes back to ... prevention, intervention and enforcement," North Port Police Officer Sean Viara explained. "At no step is there not a way, and it's never a case of 'its too far gone.'"

Tom Davie, of First Step of Sarasota County, said the reasons for taking action are compelling.

"A lot of people drop through the cracks," he said. "Adults talk and it sounds a lot like Charlie Brown's teacher -- 'mwa mwa mwa' -- but there are kids who are dying...The hope and promise of their lives has stopped, and their parents and friends are grieving."

Viara said in talking about cigarettes, drugs and alcohol -- availability, affordability and acceptability matter.

"If you take away one of these three elements, it begins to crumble, and the other two don't make much sense," he said. "(NPPD) can continue to make arrests and shut down grow houses, but if you don't shut down acceptability, there's someone else willing to slide into that spot."

Several members of the ASAP group are also on the Sarasota County Behavioral Health Strategic Planning Work group. The group, composed of a number of agencies and individuals -- including meeting jointly with the pharmaceutical investigation division at the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office -- are compiling data on drug use and its effects on area residents.

Pam Meunier is the mental health and substance abuse policy coordinator for the Sarasota County Health Department. One of the resources the group is using to track drug use and its consequences is the 2008 state medical examiners report, from which Sarasota County data has been broken out specifically by County Epidemiologist Scott Pritchard.

"This is a real issue in the community," she said. "The number isn't as high with the kids, but it seems they're hanging onto that habit. It's unintentional in a lot of cases, but some do end up dying or in the hospital.

"According to the data, there were 73 unintentional poisoning (deaths), which is how they list it, in 2008," she said, adding the total for District 12 -- which includes all of Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties -- was 282 people.

She continued that the majority of those District 12 deaths, as well as non-fatal unintentional drug poisonings, were most prevalent in those ages 20-24, but, Meunier said, "we can only assume that it's starting with the kids."

"The number of actual deaths due to unintentional poisonings -- say, the use of prescription medications at a party mixed together. They have no intention of committing suicide, but they end up dying," Davie said.

Meunier said, however, that the medical examiners report was only accurate as far as the number of people he sees, "which isn't everybody."

"We're just trying to get a handle on Sarasota County," she said, "and trying to drive some initiatives to make changes in the community. Data is flying all over the place, and there's a lot of exaggeration. Parents are hearing things, so there's a lot of hysteria information that comes out. But you appreciate the emotional impact it has on families."

In November, the Sheriff's Office announced that the county leads the state in the number of accidental prescription drug deaths, and that Florida is number one in the nation.

Accidental prescription drug deaths are the second leading cause of death in Sarasota County, according to Sheriff Tom Knight, who added that in 2009, sheriff's deputies responded to 32 accidental deaths related to illegal pharmaceutical drug usage.

"According to state statistics, Sarasota County has twice the state average of fatal overdoses," he said.

Statewide, the Medical Examiners 2009 Interim report stated that, from January to June 2009, there were 4,199 drug-related deaths, where drugs were either the cause or were present in the person's system. Prescription drugs account for 79 percent of all drug occurrences.

In terms of prescription drug abuse, the Charlotte County Health Department does not keep track of statistics on prescription drug abuse, according to Charlotte County Epidemiologist James Ogedegbe. But the medical examiners interim report stated that, from January to June 2009, there were 62 deaths in Charlotte County where prescription drugs were either the cause of death or present in the person's system.

Amity Chandler, with Drug Free Charlotte County, works with students. She said that by the time people start abusing prescription drugs, they've already been using other "gateway" drugs -- alcohol and marijuana.

"We're dealing with prevention, but once you get to prescription drugs, you're dealing with intervention," Chandler said.

Charlotte Behavioral Health Care in Punta Gorda operates a program for those struggling with prescription drug abuse. CEO Jay Glynn said the voluntary program, which is just over a year old, has already had 400 people come through, many who have been abusing oxycodone and other prescription medications.

"We're mostly seeing young adults who have been abusing this drug for a while, and they're running out of resources," he said. "They can't work, or they end up in crime and trying to figure out ways to get their drugs ... the program has 15 beds and they're all filled. It's mainly pain medications that we're seeing."

North Port averages about one accidental drug overdose death each month, according to Police Chief Terry Lewis.

Meunier was very complimentary of North Port, saying the community has "taking things by the horns, and they are just one passionate group."

The next ASAP meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 14 at the North Port Family Services Center. Sarasota County School Board member Caroline Zucker is scheduled to attend.