At the January 5, 2012 Arizona Substance Abuse Partnership (ASAP) meeting, the scope and severity of the national and local prescription drug abuse problem was discussed in depth. Presentations from Shelly Mowrey (National Partnership for a Drug-Free America, Arizona Chapter), Shana Malone and Karen Ziegler (Arizona Criminal Justice Commission), and Richard Rosky (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas) illustrated the following:
- 20% of active addicts primarily abuse pharmaceuticals
- Approximately 15% of narcotic prescriptions are fraudulent
- Prescription drugs are the fastest growing group in the illicit drug market
- 30% of all drug related deaths involve prescription drugs
- 25% of all drug related ER admissions involve prescription drugs
- ~476 million schedule II-IV controlled medications were prescribed in Arizona in 2011
- In 2010, 10% of Arizona adults reported lifetime prescription drug misuse whereas 10.4% of Arizona youth reported current prescription drug misuse
- In November 2011, the CDC reported that deaths from prescription pain relievers have reached epidemic proportions
- Prescription drug related deaths are greater than heroin and cocaine combined
- Nationally, there were ~40 deaths per day and ~15,000 a year related to prescription drugs (2008)
ASAP members decided to convene a subcommittee to determine what next steps Arizona needs to take to address this public safety concern. Sara Salek, ADHS/DBHS Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Tomi St. Mars, ADHS Chief of the Office of Injury Prevention, will be participating in this ASAP subcommittee on behalf of ADHS.
