I want a bill passed
 

That will hold doctors accountable for writing large doses of narcotics. Not only to addicts, but non-addicts.

Hello Littlebird. I will be more than willing to sign that petition. The government is supposedly doing something about the narcotics addiction problem in America. I heard that they already started closing down the pain clinics. It's a major problem through out the country, and the world. There's a very long waiting list for a bed, in almost any rehabilitation facility in the country. That should tell us all something.

My son is in a Military boot camp for opiate addiction, and I had his cell phone.
These clinics and doctors were calling him saying it's time for his appointment.
By the way my son is 29 and perfectly healthy. No injuries what so ever. I started answering his cell phone saying, Sherriffs Office/Narcotics Investigation Unit. They would hang up quick, but I still knew who was calling, because it showed on my son's phone.
It's a multi million dollar business. Personally I think we all need to rise up, and do something about it.


I'm with you on this one.
Thanks for posting this.

:ghug3:thanks

I agree!! something has to be done. I remember when I was at the police station the sergeant told me that the DEA is gettting involved with prescription drug use now as they see its a huge problem and also apparently they are trying to develop a tracking system on drs.and what and who they prescribed them too.
at one of my recent alanon meeting an area director or chairman mentioned that a American medical association personnel attended the recent alanon/naranon convention and was handed some literature.

I agree. That's what started XAH's addiction 15 years ago. Darvocet, Vicodin, Perc's for migraines. Hopefully ended in Heroin, coke and benzo's. He even went to a stupid doctor who flipping SAW AND TREATED XAH's infected track marks and STILL rx'd 90 xanax.

Darvocet, Vicodin, Perc's for migraines - That's exactly what started my exah's addiction as well...but I'm not convinced he wasn't using that as an excuse to get the pills...

I agree something needs to change...my exah has doctors who knew about his addiction issues...it was in his medical file, and they have still prescribed him tramadol, xanax, etc... it's unbelievable...

What astounds me is there is no central data base for tracking these pills... My exah would just visit lots of different pharmacies...but he always kept his "clean" pharmacy that our health insurance went through...the rest he used were cash pay... But if there were a central database tracking specific narcotics and other addictive pills, then it wouldn't matter which pharmacy he went to...if he tried to fill all the many different prescriptions, a flag would be raised...!

But Cynical has a point, there is personal responsibility involved...if there's a will, there's a way... So all the laws and regulations in the world will NEVER keep an active addict from pursuing his/her drugs...they find the loophole...the method...the "way"...it's just the nature of addiction.

Hi Littlebird

I'm with you all the way on this. Good post.

In Ohio they are trying to pass a bill that holds doctors and pharmacies accountable for the number of scripts that people get. In my county, we have formed a drug task force that is now very active in the community and on our main street they have a window lined up with pictures of people who died due to drugs. What a sad but enlightening thing to have in our town. This task force has picketed outside these pill mills. When the DEA came in to bust one of them, people lined the streets and cheered. It was a sight to behold. Our county has more scripts written per capita than the whole state of Ohio. And we are just a small town. Drug overdoses have now surpassed auto accidents as the leading cause of death. I think we have to all come together in order to get these places shut down.

Angelic, I had to laugh when I read how you answered the phone. Maybe they will take your son's cell phone off their list. We can always hope anyways. :c011:

Gotahavfaith

Cynical

I have to agree with you too. As a smoker, I know what I am doing to myself. So, yes, personal responsibility plays a BIG role in all of this too.

That's exactly what started my exah's addiction as well...but I'm not convinced he wasn't using that as an excuse to get the pills...


I know my xah used it as an excuse after he saw how it made him feel. Stupid little me who had no clue about narcotics OR drug addiction use to carry Darvocet in a pill bottle along side my aspirin in my purse. If I got cramps or he got a migraine we were both covered. I had NO clue @ 20 years old that I was prob carrying illegal narcotics. I remember 1x we went to Cedar Point and got on a h20 ride. I think we were still in high school. I got wet and this mysterious orange stuff started running down my leg. It was the outer coating off the darvocet. I had them in my pocket because he always got headaches in the sun or on coasters. Yes SR, I was that naieve and that stupid.

Cynical, you have a point and I wholeheartedly agree. BUT if these doctors could stop what they know it has the potential to be, that could change alot. XAH got migraines so bad as a teen that MIL even went and got darvocet. 150 at a time WITH refills because her son had migraines. They were in HER name, but she got them for him. As a teen myself, I had no clue. MIL had no clue really~ she is that dumb. BUT the doctor did. The bottle was the biggest rx bottle I'd ever seen. Prob. 8 inches tall. He didn't become addicted quickly, it was a long process. It was the oxy that took him down, but the others were the catalyst. JMHO in my own situation.

Cynical one, you have a great point. And yes, everyone should take responsibility for what they do. My son is now taking responsibility for his own actions.

What I'm talking about is the doctors and clinics that were writing those opiate medicines to my son, who has absolutely nothing at all wrong with him. He is a healthy ox. No injuries, no arthritis, nothing. He was 25 years old when he started with the pills. If the doctors weren't giving them to him, then maybe he wouldn't be doing them, because they are very expensive on the street. And that's another point. They prescribe these strong opiates, in large quantities, to young people, and then they start selling them illegally on the street for big bucks. It just opens up a whole list of things that can mess up their lives. Arrests for dealing, dui's, doctor shopping. All of those charges lead to long term prison sentences. Not to mention how hard it is to get off of that stuff. It's torture.

While I agree that people should be held accountable for their own actions. I firmly believe the following. The highest population of addicts are those with medicaid and medicare... This is because the doctors can get multiple visits, write scripts for addictive narcotics, so the patient comes again and again. With no co-pays from the patient, why would the doctors not cash in? I know my ABF (passed away) could walk into any doctors office with his medicaid card and get any script. When he did not have the insurance for a short time, he could not get anything from any doctor.

At some point we have to take personal responsibility. One can always refuse the prescription, cancel all refills, and have it put on their chart they are an opiate addict.

At the start up of xah's using, he really had no clue - nor did I. There wasn't the DARE program 20 years ago. Drugs weren't preached about @ school. Safe sex was. Drugs @ that time were shrooms or pot or coke or acid. I knew drugs were wrong, alcohol and smoking was wrong, but it's not like it is today with the drugs bring death slogan going around now going on in my town.

Not excusing xah by any means because @ some point this problem became mainstream. He chose to do what he wanted. BUT the drugs for his migraines came from his parents. BOTH parents. Darv, percs, vic's were always readily available @ the onset of a migraine. XAH does have migraines. Now that he's been off crap for a while, Aleve, a rolled up towel and a dark room can ease it.

Littlebird, I'm very sorry for the loss of your boyfriend. And yes, your so right about the medicaid thing. The patient gets it all for free, and the doctors profit too. It's sad because Young healthy lives are being lost every day. Again, I'm sorry for your loss.

:ghug3

The highest population of addicts are those with medicaid and medicare... This is because the doctors can get multiple visits, write scripts for addictive narcotics, so the patient comes again and again.

I 100 percent agree. Just as pharmacy's will sell needles boxes @ a time to NON diabetics. In my state some towns require pharm's to take an id from the buyer. It's a dime a dozen here though. Travel 20 miles NW and no record. That I'd found out hinges on the police department and what they require.

Littlebird, I'm very sorry for the loss of your boyfriend.

Let's not forget the premise of this thread. LB ~ I'm so very sorry. You can get with me anytime. Take care of yourself and know that you did everything that you could have. Like you, I want to point fingers @ those who knew and who were educated. In the end though, our addicts are smart and know how to get what they want. Hence all of the loopholes in the medical system.

There will always be loopholes in the system. I just want to make them harder to go through. I work in a hospital and see so many patients discharged with a notepad of narcotics. Hospitals are trying so hard to decrease the length of stay to save money that they leave their patients taking care of themselves with highly addictive narcotics... Its becoming a game to see how short your length of stay can be in a hospital... I'm trying to be accepting... But my ABF got his drugs off a licensed doctor, not on the street... Never thought I'd say this, but take the drugs out of our doctors offices and put them back on the street to make it harder for those who want them to get them.

My xah was healthy as an ox too, but he managed to get pain meds and fmla leave for his back pain and his migraines. Here is where he began to play his cards AGAIN. IRL his migraines are dimished to a tolerable level with Aleve, a neck elevation and blackness. These doctors know what they are doing. AS do the pharmacists. They KNOW. The general population may not know, but they do. It's a $ maker for them. My bff is a nurse and she says the same thing. She sees xah and loves him when he's clean ~ digusted as we all are otherwise. She sees that in alot of her patients as she's home health. . . . she see's what's going on and knows alot of doctors in our vicinity. She knows which ones are pill pushers and legit.