Wanted: A Public Health Approach to Prescription Opioid Abuse and Diversion

Wanted: A Public Health Approach to Prescription Opioid Abuse and Diversion (PDF) David E. Joranson and Aaron M. Gilson; Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety; 15(9): 632-634; 2006.

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Excerpt: [Efforts] to reduce mortality from opioids must be [targeted] at those who cause the problem… However, targeting interventions requires information about why prescription drugs are misused, how they are diverted, and who diverts them. This area continues to be ripe for a public health examination.

Comment: (DeLuca): Joranson, in response to Paulozzi, describes a basic public health approach to the ‘drug abuse crisis.’ One wonders whether the combined brain power and resources of the NIH, CDC and FDA would not have accomplished this long ago, were it not for misguided drug war policy imperatives.

The Challenge of Prescription Drug Misuse, published in 2005 by Dr. Hurwitz while in federal custody, is an example of the sort of creative analysis we should expect, but never get, from our academic and federal patriarchs. For a deeper consideration of Hurwitz’ analysis of government data on prescription drug “abuse”, see: Questions for Dr. Volkow (NIDA) - DeLuca, 2008-03-11.

References and Resources:

The Challenge of Prescription Drug Misuse: A Review and Commentary - William Hurwitz; Pain Medicine; 6(2); 152-161; March 2005. Posted: 2005-03-29.

Increasing Deaths from Opioid Analgesics in the United States - Leonard J. Paulozzi, Daniel S. Budnitz, and Yongli Xi; Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety; 15(9); 618-627; 2006. Posted: 2006-09-14.

Dr. Fishman’s Response to Paulozzi et al.: Prescription Drug Abuse and Safe Pain Management (PDF) - Scott M. Fishman; Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety; 15(9): 628-631; 2006. Posted: 2006-09-14.

Drug Crime (Not Pain Docs) a Source of Abused Pain Medications in the U.S. - David E. Joranson and Aaron M. Gilson, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management; 30(4): 299-301; 2005. Posted: 2006-02-21.

The Pathological DEA: Aftermath of the DEA FAQ Debacle (Articles from the January 2006 issue of Pain Medicine, and Related Resources) - compiled by Alexander DeLuca; WAR ON PAIN SUFFERERS series #11; 2006.

The War on Drugs, War on Doctors, and the Pain Crisis in America - Alexander DeLuca; MPH thesis; Columbia University; 2004.

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