newjerseynewsroom.com

BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

New Jersey’s first Prescription Drug Summit conference was held in Edison on Tuesday with a strong message.

Brian Crowell of the Drug Enforcement Administration in New Jersey called prescription drugs the fastest-growing drug problem in the nation.

“Every 19 minutes somebody is dying from a painkiller overdose,” said Crowell, according to NorthJersey.com. U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said, “More people abuse prescription drugs than the number who use cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and inhalants combined.”

“Over 7 million people over 12 used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons last month on average,” added Fishman.

And state Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa said New Jersey saw more than 8,600 admissions to treatment centers from prescription drug abuse, 290 percent more than in 2005.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will be holding another "National Take Back Day" Saturday, April 28. Residents are urged to bring their expired and unwanted prescription medications to local police departments' collection sites, where they will be collected and destroyed by the DEA.

Lehighvalleylive.com reports that the DEA’s "Take Back" event in October saw 377,086 pounds of drugs returned nationwide. Most prescription medications have a two- to three-year shelf life, but exposure to moisture, sunlight or extreme temperatures can make that period even shorter.

Reuters reported that data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health has shown that more than 70 percent of people who abuse prescription drugs get them from friends or relatives for free.

The DEA said there was a 346 percent increase in overdose deaths from oxycodone between 2005 and 2010. They said abuse of legal medications caused an average of 11 deaths per day from oxycodone, methadone, hydrocodone, benzodiazepines and morphine.