Dr. Bennett provides prescription drug testing along with comprehensive evaluations and consultations of results. His forensic analysis services far exceed the capabilities of drug testing provided by any physician’s office. Drug screening performed through the office of Dr. Bennett is able to differentiate between drug misuse and abuse and determine recent and long-term drug use through forensic urine and hair analysis. Dr. Bennett is committed to developing an effective program to provide public education on drug use and target services towards a drug abuse prevention strategy.
The
phrase “drug problems” often provokes thoughts of marijuana, cocaine,
crystal meth, and heroin, Mexican drug cartels, gang wars, and nothing
related to your family or community. This common misconception may be
the reason why prescription drug abuse has had such an explosive
increase. The real drug epidemic lies with the physician’s prescription
pad. As a society, the United States population medicates more
conditions now than ever before. Many physicians feel obligated to
provide prescriptions with every office visit to satisfy patient demands
(and retain their paying customer patients). Patients expect a pill for
whatever is ailing them and often, act under the delusion that
prescription medications are safe, without any associated risks.
Unfortunately, many think of prescription drugs as candy and that they
are able to take them as much and as often as they would like. A
prescription is not a license to abuse drugs. The nationwide epidemic of
prescription drug abuse is a complex, multi-faceted problem for all
health care providers, challenged to balance between benefits and risks
of prescription drugs while separating drug abuse from legitimate
medical need.
Prescription
drug abuse or “non-medical use” includes when a prescription medication
is used without a valid prescription, used for reasons other than its
intended purpose, or when used simply for the experience or feeling the
drug can cause (getting high). The misuse of prescription medications
occurs when valid prescriptions are being taken for their intended
purpose, but not as prescribed. This increases the risk of dangerous
side effects and potential short-term and long-term detrimental
consequences on the health of the individual.
Prescription
drug abuse far exceeds the use of illegal drugs. In 2010, the Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reported that
7.0 million people in the U.S., age 12 or older, had used prescription
drugs non-medically in the past month and that 2.4 million people, age
12 or older, had used them non-medically for the first time in the past
year, averaging out to about 6,600 new uses per day. The explosive
increase of this drug epidemic continues to grow at an increasing rate.
SAMHSA also reported that the number of people admitted to specialty
treatment programs in 2010 (2.6 million) was similar to data collected
in 2002 (2.3 million). However, the number of people admitted to
speciality substance use treatment programs within the past year for
misuse of prescription pain relievers more than doubled, from 199,000 to
406,000. The Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality
reported in 2011 that the number of people enrolled into substance abuse
treatment programs for problems with prescription opiates increased
from 45,816 in 2002 to 138,639 in 2009. SAMHSA reported that
prescription painkiller misuse and abuse accounted for more than 475,000
emergency room visits in 2009, a number that nearly doubled in five
years. The U.S. is facing a growing, deadly epidemic of prescription
drug abuse.
People
abusing controlled prescription drugs greatly exceed the number of
abusers of cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants, and heroin combined. In a
study by the CDC on unintentional drug overdose deaths, the deaths
caused by pain relievers and cocaine were the same in 2000, but by 2007,
the deaths caused by pain relievers were greater than the deaths caused
by cocaine and heroin combined. In 2008, the CDC reported a total of
36,000 deaths due to drug overdoses, 14,800 of those deaths were caused
by prescription drugs. In 2008, SAMHSA reported that the four major
categories of prescription drugs abused for their euphoric effects were:
pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and sedatives. In the 2011
Monitoring the Future study, 7 of the top 14 most commonly abused drugs
by 12th graders were either prescription or over-the-counter
medications. The CDC reported in 2010 that 1 in 5 high school students
in the U.S. has taken a prescription drug without a doctor’s
prescription, meaning out of 100 students, 20 of them could potentially
develop issues with drug addiction.
In
the Charleston area there has been an explosive increase of
prescription drug abuse. Common prescription drug classes seen abused
are amphetamines, benzodiazepines, and opiates. Amphetamines are used to
treat ADHD and narcolepsy, but very few adults actually have this
condition. Amphetamines, which are stimulants, include: Adderall and
Vyvanse. Benzodiazepines, used as sedatives or tranquilizers for
anxiety, include: Clonazepam (Klonopin) and Alprazolam (Xanax). Opiates
for pain include: Hydrocodone (Lorcet, Lortab, Vicodin) and Oxycodone
(Oxycontin, Percocet, Percodan). Having a prescription for medications
does not make drug abuse legitimate, yet many people see it as an
acceptable approach to get the same effects of illicit drugs legally.
The
claimed health conditions, such as ADHD, anxiety, and pain, used to
obtain these Controlled Substances are subjective, sometimes
controversial, undiagnosable, and have a strong psychological component.
When someone visits a physician’s office complaining of problems with
their thyroid, laboratory tests can be done to clinically diagnose
thyroid disorders. The evaluation of these health conditions is
controversial for several reasons including, lack of medical acceptance
of the diagnosis, difficulties in objectifying the disability, and
deficiencies in instruments of evaluation (Arthritis Rheum. 1995
Jun;24(6):371-81). Physician’s are expected to determine the presence of
the health conditions and the effectiveness of the drug treatment.
Severe discomfort and pain are based on the patient’s subjective
perception, leading to a perceived need for drugs. Prescription drug
abuse is the largest drug problem currently facing this country. It is
far too easy for prescriptions for Controlled Substances to be obtained
from physicians who are not keen to substance abuse and/or simply need
the revenue from the office visit.