Nearly five Ohioans died every day from overdose deaths in 2011, most of them attributed to continued abuse of painkillers like oxycodone and hydrocodone as well as rising abuse of heroin

EXCERPT

The head of the state's addictions agency said Tuesday that data showing a record high number of deaths from prescription painkillers and other drugs in 2011 is one more reason to expand the federal-state program for poor children and families.

Nearly five Ohioans died every day from overdose deaths in 2011, most of them attributed to continued abuse of painkillers like oxycodone and hydrocodone as well as rising abuse of heroin, according to Department of Health data released last week.

The Health Department data show the number of people who died of accidental overdoses jumped 14 percent in 2011 for a total of 1,765 overall deaths.

The increase comes as Ohio has launched numerous efforts to crack down on illegal prescription painkiller use and distribution. That includes shutting down clinics throughout southern Ohio dubbed "pill mills" where addicts pay cash for painkiller prescriptions — and sometimes the pills themselves — after undergoing only cursory medical exams.

The state has also been promoting use of medications aimed at controlling addictions. Earlier this month, officials announced the opening of the Health Recovery Services Southern Ohio Treatment Center in Jackson. The center offers patients counseling and anti-addiction medication.

In October, the state changed the way doctors can bill Medicaid for an expensive painkiller addiction treatment, a move that boosted use of the drug in Ohio.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Ohio-addictions-chief-addr...

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Permalink Reply by suzie on May 1, 2013 at 7:16pm

People who are in real pain I feel sorry for, the way we handle it as a society is abominable we are literally under the boots of Big Pharm and they really don't care how much pain were in after all they caused a lot of it. It in the vaccines, the food, the air, and the water we drink. More people suffer from bone problems and immune difficiancies and mental problems mainly from side effect from these monster drugs that cause more harm than good. Legalize morphine it is the only thing that really helps acute and chronic pain. So many people are held hostage by "pain doctors" who say what you can have and how much. Morphine is the most natural pain killer and has been around for very long time and maryjuanna has many benefits for less intense pain. Personal responsibility and putting pain management in ones own hand was the way it was 100yrs ago and there were some addicts but in general when people can manage things themselves its better for all .. Who knows what we could do as a society if we were free to do real research that helps people and isn't about a profit margin .. Crime goes hand in hand with our present system of the way drugs are distributed ... The war on drugs is a joke I think most of us have figured out .. No one in the 21st century should have pain that is not relieved ... Take the mystic and crime out of drug use and my hypothesis is drug addiction would become something rare and not on the rise .. If there was access to morphine there would be no need for heroin and that too would become a rare thing .. Its just the way I see it and most people I know would love to argue with my simple solution. Not only legalize drugs but put them over counter like aspirin and make it a personal decision..