We were sent two recent articles about the Oxy epidemic in Ohio.
New York times: Ohio County Losing It’s Young to Painkillers’ Grip
Excerpt:
Such is life in Scioto County, a Southern Ohio county on the Ohio river where a prescription drug epidemic crosses all socioeconomic lines, wrecking young lives from ramshackle trailer parks to cushy suburban homes.
Excerpt:
Fueled in part by a half-dozen legally operating pain clinics that dot Scioto County, doling out an estimated 35 million pills a year…
Thirty five million pills a year prescribed in Scioto County? A county with a population of 79,499 (Source: U.S. Census Bureau). That’s 440 pills per person (including babies, children, people who’ve never taken a prescription drug in their lives). Do you think we have an epidemic here?
Cleveland.com: Young Lives Wrecked by Prescription Drug Epidemic in Southern Ohio
Excerpt:
Nearly 1 in 10 babies born last year in this Appalachian county tested positive for drugs. In January, police caught several junior high school students, including a seventh grader, with painkillers.
Excerpt:
Nearly 1 in 10 babies born last year in this Appalachian county tested positive for drugs. In January, police caught several junior high school students, including a seventh grader, with painkillers.
And of course:
“The most popular drug among addicts here is the painkiller OxyContin.”
