Sunday, April 05, 2009

Pharmacist warns of 'pharm parties'

From the Madison (IN) Courier:
"Pharm parties" where party-goers ingest random prescription drugs collected from family medicine cabinets without regard for potentially lethal drug interactions are a rapidly increasing trend among teens and young adults, a pharmacist told a town hall audience Monday in Carrollton, Ky.

Pharmacist Dave Sallengs likened the possible deadly consequences of mixing prescription medication to the death Jan. 22, 2008, of Academy Award-winning actor Heath Ledger, who accidentally overdosed on six different painkillers and sedatives.

Sallengs said the number of 12- to 17-year-olds abusing controlled substances in the U.S. grew 212 percent between 1992 and 2003, and the number of prescriptions written for controlled substances in the U.S. grew 150 percent.

Sallengs, the manager of the drug enforcement and professional practices branch office of the Kentucky inspector general, said the number of people abusing prescription drugs exceeded the number of people abusing cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants and heroin combined during that same period. ..more

No comments: