FORT SILL, Okla.-- Prescription drug abuse remains a significant problem in the United States. Many of these abused drugs are not even prescribed to the person who takes them.
Youth misusing medicines
"The abuse of prescription drugs is second only to marijuana. And guess which age group is abusing these prescription drugs more? - teenagers and young adults," said Jay Khalifeh, Fort Sill Army Substance Abuse Program director. "A lot of these kids get stuck in a lifetime of abuse. What we do here at ASAP is work with a lot of school kids because we are much more successful at preventing than we are at treating them once they become addicted. Study after study has shown that the longer we can prevent or delay first-use of these drugs, or any drugs, the less likely it will be that they will have drug problems as adults."
Nearly one in 12 high school seniors has reported non-medicinal uses of such drugs as Vicodin and OxyContin. When asked where they got prescription drugs that were not prescribed for them, 70 percent of them said they got them from a friend or relative, who often took them from medicine cabinets. Some older adults are even selling their prescription drugs to younger people for the money.
Drug Take-Back Day
To deal with this problem the Drug Enforcement Administration has scheduled National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day April 28 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The take-back point on post is the Main Exchange food court. The goal is to collect 100 pounds of prescription drugs.
"One of garrison commander Col. Paul Hossenlopp's main priorities is to collect as much of these unused prescribed drugs as possible. We need everyone's help. The more drugs that are collected, the less they will be available to be misused," Khalifeh said. "Last year, we collected around 50 pounds of prescribed drugs and this year we're shooting for at least 100 pounds."
Khalifeh emphasized that everyone should look in their medicine cabinets and see if they have any unused drugs that should be turned in during the take-back day.
"Parents especially need to understand that unused drugs can be misused by someone else in the household. There is also the possibility of accidental poisoning, and we want them to bring those drugs in to safely get rid of them," he said. He added that unused medications should never be flushed down the toilet because they pollute the water supply and can harm wildlife.
Khalifeh went on to say that there is a prevailing misconception that since these medications are prescribed by doctors, they are safe to take under any circumstances.
This is not the case. Using a medication other than as prescribed can potentially lead to a variety of adverse health effects, including overdoses and addiction.
There are also off-post Take-Back collection points at the Lawton Police Department, 10 SW 4th St. and the Comanche County Sheriff's Department at 315 SW 5th St., where unused prescription drugs can be disposed of anytime. Both locations are in downtown Lawton.
Army increasing drug screening
The Army takes this problem of illegal use of prescription drugs very seriously. Under changes made in 2011 to the Army policy AR 600-85, controlled prescription drugs can only be taken for six months from the date the prescriptions are issued. For patients who have ongoing pain, providers can renew prescriptions.
But the real problem related to illegal prescription drug use for military personnel is that the Army now can test for a wider range of drug use. And testing positive for drugs that aren't prescribed to a Soldier can mean the end of their career. Any Soldier who is currently taking prescription drugs must be aware of how long their prescription goes and plan accordingly.
Don't keep those meds
Soldiers also need to be aware that if they took prescription medications for a while, but did not finish the prescription, they should not save those drugs to take later. If they take the drugs six months after the prescription was written and then test positive on a urinalysis test, they will be in violation of AR 600-85, even though the drug was originally prescribed to them. Properly dispose of any unused medications after the expiration date.
However, beginning May 1, the Army will expand random testing of Soldiers for unauthorized prescription drugs, in addition to current testing for illegal substances.
The tests will look for hydrocodone, which is a component in numerous prescription pain drugs like Vicodin, Lortab and Norco, and benzodiazepines, a class of antidepressant medications in several drugs like Valium, Ativan, Klonopin and Xanax. Codeine and morphine are already part of the screening.
The testing will ramp up as more labs come online and be fully implemented by Oct. 1.
The use of prescription drugs is considered inappropriate by Army standards when they are used outside of their intended purpose, beyond their prescribed dates, in excess of a prescribed dosage, or when used by another Soldier.
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