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Overdose in Pennsylvania Spikes

Prescription drug abuse is an epidemic in Pennsylvania, and legislators and law enforcement officials are scrambling to address the rapidly growing problem. Addiction to prescription pills mainly to narcotic painkillers such as Oxycodone, sold as Percocet and other brands, and Hydrocodone, sold as Vicodin and other brands, has proven to be more deadly than some illegal drugs. According to the Centers for Disease Control, prescription drug overdoses in 2007 resulted in four times as many deaths as heroin overdoses and twice as many as cocaine. This trend is going to continue until there is an effective plan set forth to control the amount of prescriptions that are being written, along with the length of time that individuals are on them.

Across the region, the number of overdose deaths from prescription and illegal drugs has increased dramatically, according to Pennsylvania Department of Health, Bureau of Health Statistics and Research leading the way. Pennsylvania is quickly working on a way to better monitor their prescriptions to hopefully lower the amount of deaths related to prescription medicines, along with lowering the percentage of people who are addicted. Many times, due to a car accident or an injury people are prescribed to these medications to alleviate their pain and to have some sort of comfort. It’s unfortunate that these medications are extremely addicting, and what is happening, people are unwillingly becoming addicted to these medicines. Addiction treatment facilities like Seabrook offers a wide variety of treatment plans that are made to accommodate everyone’s needs. Learn more and visit: www.seabrook.org.

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