Facts and Stats here in Canada

Please check out this article link from CBC today.  It is a real eye-opener to why we must address the issue of Prescription Drug Abuse. 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/teen-s-opioid-addiction-descent-into-hell-for-ottawa-mom-1.2251945

 1 of 5 teenagers admitted to taking prescription drugs to get high and 75% of those teenagers admitted to stealing them from their own home – CAMH – Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS 2009)

Painkillers are the most commonly used prescription drug abused by teens (OSDUHS 2009)
 

" Canada is the second largest consumer of prescription opioids, according to the International Narcotics Control Board (2010). Globally, North America consumes approximately 80% of the world's opioids”. http://www.ccsa.ca/Eng/Priorities/Prescription-Drug-Misuse/Pages/default.aspx

"Commonly abused prescription medication includes: opioid pain relievers (such as fentanyl, Percodan®, Demerol® and OxyNEO®); stimulants (such as Ritalin®, Concerta®, Adderall® and Dexedrine®); and tranquillizers and sedatives (such as benzodiazepine, Valium®, Ativan® and Xanax®)." http://www.ccsa.ca/Eng/Priorities/Prescription-Drug-Misuse/Pages/default.aspx

 

Prescription drugs:  Stimulants should only be used in combination with other medications under a physician’s careful supervision (OSDUHS 2009)

Over-the-counter drugs:  There are dangers associated with mixing stimulants and over the counter drugs that contain decongestants. Blood pressure can become dangerously high or lead to irregular heart rhythms.(OSDUHS 2009)

47,000 Canadian deaths are linked to substance abuse annually.

       —  Health Officer's Council of British Columbia

Substance abuse has cost our health care system $8 billion.

       —  Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse

 

Testimonials: 

“I began to get hallucinations of birds flying overhead, feelings of people in the same room as me when I was alone, and the beginnings of paranoia. I used up [my friend’s] entire Dexedrine prescription within a week. Then I went back to my Ritalin and went on from there....

“I don’t remember much of twelfth grade. The vast majority was spent in an incoherent, paranoid sleep-stupor. But I do remember overwhelming depression and an inability to understand what exactly was the reason I was doing worse than ever in school....I barely graduated, and made absolutely no college plans.

“At the last minute I enrolled in the local college. I was able to stay clean for about seventeen days before the need for speed overcame all. As soon as I started using it again, I stopped going to class. I was too depressed to care. I attended class for one week, and failed miserably.” —Sam

www.drugfreeworld.com

Discussion:

 

We have chosen this topic because it is a growing problem, and believe that this is an issue that affects many families in Northern Ontario. The western world uses approximately 60 percent of the world's pharmaceuticals, the problem is here in North America.  We must begin the change here at home.