prescription drug abuse

Is Adderall The New Coffee?

Virginia Prescott — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:46:07 +0000

Over the past decade, psycho-stimulants like Adderall and Ritalin have crossed over from treatment for people diagnosed with ADHD to black market cognitive enhancement. Studies show that as many as one in three students have been diagnosed with ADHD or used ADHD medications illicitly as a study aid. The demand has led to shortages of the meds in pharmacies across the country and questions about addiction and dependency. Will Oremus, staff writer for slate.com wrote about his own experience with ADHD drugs, and the somewhat arbitrary nature of what is legal--coffee and nicotine--and what is illicit.

State Looks For New Tools To Battle Prescription Drug Abuse

Todd Bookman — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 20:54:35 +0000

Prescription drug abuse experts unveiled a new tool today to help lower opioid misuse in the state.

That new tool is a website containing information for doctors describing safe prescribing techniques and standards for pain management.

Dr. Seddon Savage, a chronic pain and addiction specialist at Dartmouth, says the cycle of abuse can start with a well-intentioned prescription.

Mother's Little Helper

Virginia Prescott and Sarah Baker — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 15:42:19 +0000

Xanax has become the go-to cure for over-stressed Americans.

Calif.'s Prescription-Drug Monitoring System Feels Pain From Budget Cuts

Sarah Varney — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 07:43:00 +0000

This is a story about what can happen when no one is looking. For the patients at Universal Pain Management, a medical clinic in northern Los Angeles County, Dr. Francis Riegler is always looking.

Riegler huddles with the clinic's nurse practitioner over a computer printout. The one-page report from the state's drug-tracking system shows that a patient was on the hunt for more Vicodin, a powerful pain reliever that he was already getting from Riegler's clinic.

California has the oldest continuous prescription-drug monitoring program in the U.S., dating to 1939.

Diet Drug Qnexa Gets Thumbs-Up From FDA Panel

Rob Stein — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:53:00 +0000

A key federal panel Wednesday recommended the Food and Drug Administration approve the first new weight-loss drug in more than a decade.

At the conclusion of a day-long hearing, the FDA's Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 20-2 to endorse a request from Vivus to approve the drug Qnexa.

Prescription Drug Abuse Plan Calls for Monitoring, Awareness - and Funding

Brady Carlson — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:00:00 +0000

State officials are announcing their strategy to address the growing problem of prescription drug abuse. That strategy calls for increased public awareness, more funding for treatment programs, and, again, a statewide prescription monitoring system.

That piece has been blocked by lawmakers several times. State Senators will take it up again at a hearing tomorrow.

Prescription Drug Abuse Plan Calls for Monitoring, Awareness - and Funding

Brady Carlson — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:00:00 +0000

That piece has been blocked by lawmakers several times. State Senators will take it up again at a hearing tomorrow.