Drug usage in America is on the rise, and pharmaceutical companies are failing the public. A survey from 2016 found that 1-in-3 Americans, or 37% of participants in the survey, struggled with illicit drugs. Heroin accounted for just 0.4% of all drug usage, with 948,000 people using the drug. Methamphetamines came in at 1.4 million people, inhalants at 1.7 million, hallucinogens at 4.9 million and cocaine at 5.1 million.
Prescription drugs came in at 18.7 million people, second to only marijuana.
Opioid’s grip on the American population impacts 4.4% of the total population, with 11.5 million, or 97.4% of opioid misusers, abusing prescription pain killers. Hydrocodone, Oxycodone and Fentanyl are the prescription drugs that pharmaceutical companies are pushing on the American public.
Why Pharmaceutical Companies are Failing Opioid Abusers
Heroin use remained stagnant between 2015 and 2016, but the number of deaths skyrocketed. Heroin, laced with Fentanyl, is a major factor in the increased number of heroin overdoses. Opioids now kill 100 Americans daily, a figure that eclipses deaths in the Iran and Vietnam wars.
Abusers often don’t start with heroin or illegal substances – they start with prescription pain killers.
Chicago decided to take legal action against pharma companies in 2014, when the city filed a lawsuit against Big Pharma. Cities allege that the pharmaceutical companies:
- Oversold prescription drugs
- Overmarketed prescription drugs
- Failed to warn about the risks of the drugs
The result is a society that is dependent on prescription drugs. When the drugs no longer numb the pain or are no longer prescribed, these previous non-addicts turn to harder, illicit drugs.
Purdue Pharma and Teva Pharmaceuticals are just two of many companies that are targeted by lawsuits. Seattle filed a lawsuit against both companies because they:
- Encouraged doctors to write opioid prescriptions
- Failed to convey the addictive nature of the drugs
- Downplayed the dangers of the pain medication
- Overstated the benefits of the drugs
“Pseudo-addiction” was also introduced by the company, which shows how rampant the misuse practice is in the United States. Purdue claimed that doctors should prescribe more opioids and higher dosages to patients because they’re not addicted but need to ease their pain.
Big pharma has encouraged the use of opioids because it pads their bottom line.
Rehab Center Has a High Success Rate with Customized Solutions
Rehab centers offer a place of solace and recovery for addicts, but oftentimes, there is a high rate of relapse. Addicts often drop out of rehab programs at a rate of near 70%, at Detox of South Florida, 98% complete the program. Impatient and residential treatment options have a 21% sober rate after five years, meaning 79% returned to their addictive habits.
The key difference is that a customized addiction treatment program is provided. Every program is different, targeting the needs of individuals through a unique process that involves:
- Listening to the needs of the patients so that medical professionals have a full understanding about the patient.
- Medical professionals learning what works best for each patient and the values that are most important to them.
- A customized recovery program that aims to heal the body, mind and spirit.
Customized approaches work on the strengths and needs of the patients, so everyone has a higher chance of success. Amino acid therapy is also employed to help restore the person’s neurotransmitters that are depleted with long-term opioid abuse.
Detox and rehab methods are used to cover all aspects of the addiction and dependency problem.
Traditional rehab centers offer long-term treatment options that may last 6 – 12 months on average. These rehab options offer a long-term solution, yet the majority of people enrolled in the programs (as high as 70%) will leave a long-term, residential program in a 3- to 6-month period.
