Prescription Drugs on Campus – Oxy and Adderall Are Being Abused

Illicit drugs like cocaine and ecstasy are no longer the primary drugs of choice on college campuses.  In the past decade, the non-medical use of prescription drugs has skyrocketed among college students.  A 2010 survey of approximately 95,000 college students by the American College Health Association revealed that 15% of students admit to using prescription drugs without a prescription.
The types of drugs most commonly abused and the percent of students using them include:
•    Pain killers – 9.3% (includes OxyContin and Vicodin)
•    Stimulants – 7% (includes Adderall, Ritalin, Concerta)
•    Sedatives – 4.5% (includes Xanax, Valium)
•    Antidepressants – 3.2% (includes Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil)

Prescription drugs are readily available to college students.  According to research from the University of Michigan, most students obtain prescription drugs from family and friends.  Another source is physicians who overmedicate minor medical problems.  …

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New Formula of Oxy Leads to Heroin Abuse, Addiction

It has been almost a year since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released their new formulation for OxyContin. The FDA released the new design of the tablet to help prevent the illegal misuse and abuse of the pain relieving drug. As successful as the new formula may be, the new version is causing authorities across the nation new stress. Authorities have been noticing a rise in more individuals turning to heroin to get the sensation of euphoria that at one time OxyContin was able to fulfill.

On April 5, 2010 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the new formulation of the time controlled-release drug OxyContin. OxyContin is made to slowly release potent opioid oxycodone into patients that require management of a continuous around-the-clock pain suppressant. However, because of OxyContin’s time-released formula, each tablet contains large doses of oxycodone. …

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Today is International Drug Overdose Awareness Day

We love to see the Salvation Army starting an International Overdose Awareness Day.

This day is not so much about specifically OxyContin overdose (or the heroin that many users of Oxys end up abusing), but just overdoses in general.

This site was started due to the overdoses we witnessed.  If it were not for the grief that we witnessed from the families and friends of those who became ensnared in opiate addiction, we would not have been compelled enough to undertake this.

The Salvation Army has a touching page of tributes which are moving to read.  I don’t see anywhere to add them.  Since this site is inundated with spam comments I recommend leaving a tribute (should you feel the need to) on this treatment center blog article about Awareness Day.

Today we would like to take this opportunity to

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The “New Silk Road” of Heroin Smuggling

Kazakhstan is a country known mainly to Americans as the home of Borat, the farcical character perpetrated on the world by comedian Sasha Baron Cohen. However, Kazakhstan also sits on the “New Silk Road” of heroin smuggling that connects Asia and Europe.

Afghanistan supplies and estimated 90% of Europe’s heroin (and 75% of the world’s heroin).  Global political and economical factors have created a “perfect storm” of supply and demand for heroin between the manufacturers in the east and the consumers in the west (read about the Global Heroin Manufacturing Empire).

The New Silk Road of heroin smuggling is through the poor republics of the former Soviet Union.  The poverty in this region makes it rife with willing participants and the under trained and poortly equipped police forces can’t compete with the multi billion dollar industry.

The city of Almaty …

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