The number of Americans abusing prescription drugs nearly doubled from 7.8 million in 1992 to 15.1 million in 2003, the Narcotics Control Board said. Among their prescription drugs of choice: the painkillers oxycodone, sold under the trade name OxyContin, and hydrocodone, sold as Vicodin and used by 7.4 percent of college students in 2005.
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Maybe it’s because the workers are getting old – we hurt now. We’ve got all kinds of neuromuscular disorder, as well as all kinds of joint problems plus arthritis and numerous other painful medical conditions that simply do not respond as well to the ‘modern’ fix-it drugs like they do to the old-timey, as in thousands of years of use, opiates. The Baby Boomers are aging and we are a HUGE population, largest in our history in fact. Does not surprise me to hear that Rx’s for pain are up – we are aging. I am one of them and I take pain meds on a regular basis because of neuropathy brought on by years of diabetes. My dad takes pain meds because of years of lifting heavy pipes and his back is all tore out. My sister takes pain meds beause she has MS (which is on the rise too making me wonder if ITS not more age-related than we thought). Millions of working Americans HURT so what’s wrong with takig opiates and living a more full life? Two years ago, when docs finally let me start taking methadone, I felt like a new woman within 2 days! I could walk, I WANTED to go to the beach, I WANTED to go out to eat, to the movies — because the pain was not eating me alive! Instead of worrying about how many are on pain meds, why not look at the reasons we take them and see if something can be done for future generations so they don’t end up all crippled up in their Golden Years. And quit making us feel like junkies – we are not!
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