Other LanguagesIf you think prescription drug abuse is isolated by a few individual incidents, think again. In Washington State, there are more deaths annually from prescription drug abuse than from meth, cocaine, and heroin combined.
The Sequim Gazette recently reported on the unfortunate death of a Port Angeles teen from a methadone overdose. The article cited a 2009 Washington State Department of Health Study showing, “methadone was involved in 64 percent of the state's fatal overdoses on prescription opiate drugs, more than double the rate of overdoses on oxycodone or hydrocodone.”
Attorney General Rob McKenna is continuing his efforts to combat this growing epidemic.
To test your RxIQ, visit the AGO’s Prescription Drug Abuse page. You can also see how the Attorney General is using funds (more than $2.7 million) acquired from consumer protection settlements with drug manufacturers towards prevention programs, the creation of a drug monitoring program, drug abuse education, and promotion for the safe disposal of unwanted medications.
-Valerie Kostka-