Prescription Drug Abuse Grows in US

Thanks Michael for kicking this off so well. This is one of my biggest issues. We are legal or illegal depending on who you get it from. Not because of the moral turpitude of being on drugs. They lost and they need to get over it. Read Michael's take on this at Corr Sentencing
Just because I love a good rant.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More young U.S. adults are abusing prescription medications, particularly painkillers, according to the government's annual report on substance abuse released on Thursday.

Overall, in 2006, 22.6 million people -- 9.2 percent of Americans ages 12 and up -- either abused or were addicted to drugs or alcohol in the prior year, according to estimates in the report from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

That is up slightly from an estimated 22.2 million people, or 9.1 percent of the population, in last year's report.

The 2006 report found that non-medical use of prescription drugs, mostly pain relievers, among young adults increased from 5.4 percent in 2002 to 6.4 percent in 2006.

"The abuse of prescription drugs for non-medical reasons is of increasing concern," agency chief Terry Cline said in a statement.

"These are potent drugs that can have serious and life-threatening consequences if misused. Parents in particular need to be aware of this problem and take steps to prevent these medications from falling into the wrong hands," Cline added.

The agency said 3.2 million Americans were dependent on or abused both alcohol and illicit drugs and 3.8 million were dependent on or abused illicit drugs but not alcohol.

Another 15.6 million were dependent on or abused alcohol but not illicit drugs, the agency added.

The report showed that fewer adolescents ages 12 to 17 said they had used illicit drugs in the prior month -- the rate dropped from 11.6 percent in 2002 to 9.9 percent in 2005 and 9.8 percent in 2006.

Current marijuana use among those ages 12 to 17 dropped from 8.2 percent in 2002 to 6.7 percent in 2006, with the decline seen particularly among boys, according to the report.

Rueters