If you’ve been sent to rehab before for painkiller addiction but had a nasty relapse, you should muster the will to slam on the brakes for good, even if professional help is needed. In a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article dated October 5, 2014, writer Blythe Bernhard said:
It’s going to be more difficult to refill prescriptions for the most popular painkillers starting Monday, when new federal rules move products with hydrocodone into a stricter drug class reserved for the most dangerous and addictive substances.
In approving the change, the Drug Enforcement Administration cited the 7 million Americans who abuse prescription drugs and the 100,000 overdose deaths from painkillers in the past decade. Hydrocodone combinations, including Vicodin, Lortab and Norco, now account for more prescriptions than any other drug, with more than 130 million filled each year.
Proponents of the new rules believe many prescriptions go to younger people for recreational use because they are less likely to suffer from arthritis or other chronic pain conditions.
Episodes with painkillers are unsettling to Missouri residents. The Show-Me state was recently marked as the only one in the entire country to not keep prescription drug databases; it ranks No. 37 of 50 in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study of states with tough prescription drug controls – at 95 prescriptions per 100 people as opposed to Hawaii at No. 1 with 52. When your or a loved one’s addiction to painkillers is teetering on the edge, trusted drug rehab centers in Missouri like the Midwest Institute for Addiction (MIA) are capable of setting paths straight.
An analysis of the new regulations and subsequently violating them can factor into possible court orders to undergo rehab. Under the new rules, hydrocodone combination painkillers (HCP) are now upped from Schedule III to Schedule II controlled substances. They can be acquired as a 30-day supply with no refills – when patients were allowed up to five refills. Only certified doctors will be authorized to prescribe HCPs in handwritten notes that cannot be emailed or faxed to the patient’s pharmacy of choice.
The new regulations also came as the American Academy of Neurology reiterated objections to the use of prescription opioids for pain relief. They said people who were prescribed a three-month supply can still be on them in a few years’ time.
An established Missouri rehabilitation center such as the MIA has the adequate facilities to treat painkiller addicts depending on the level of abuse. The more serious conditions can warrant a longer facility stay, but it will be worth the effort to break the cycle for good.
(Source: Popular painkillers are now harder for patients to get, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 5 October 2014)
