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1-866-726-3478Kansas, like the rest of the United States, has been struggling with a growing prescription drug abuse and addiction problem. This is because some people in the state have been abusing prescription medications by using them without a valid prescription or in ways other than they were asked to by their primary health care providers and doctors.
But what does prescription drug abuse entail? Essentially, it refers to using prescription drugs in higher doses or frequencies than doctors advised. It could also refer to taking these medications for any other reason than was prescribed. It also involves using medications that you do not have a valid prescription for, even when you are doing so for a medical reason that could potentially be legitimate.
Prescription drugs cause many problems in Kansas as they do all across the country. Although the state is ranked below national averages in terms of the rates of deaths arising from drug overdoses, this problem still exists and continues to be reported on a daily basis.
From vital statistical data collected in Kansas in 2016, for instance, it was reported that the state lost 10.9 people among every segment of 100,000 residents. Between 2012 and 2016, the state also lost 1583 lives to a drug overdose.
Close to 85 percent of the people who lost their lives to drug overdoses had abused methamphetamine and amphetamine drugs like Adderall, benzodiazepines like Valium and Xanax, or prescription opioids such as hydrocodone and oxycodone.
75 percent of all the drug poisonings that ended in fatal outcomes only cited one drug as the main cause of death during this period. At the same time, most of these deaths affected people who were born any year from 1955 and 1970.
From 2012 to 2016, most of the drug overdose deaths reported in Kansas involved opioid drugs. recent data has also shown that the state lost a total of 310 lives in 2016 due to drug poisoning.
Of this number, 104 fatalities involved semi-synthetic and natural opioids while 36 were linked to heroin. Even though most of the fatalities resulted from opioids, it is also important to acknowledge the fact that other medications like amphetamines and methamphetamine were also liable.
Some other figures relating to the rates of drug overdose fatalities reported in Kansas in 2016 include:
From these and other statistics, it is clear that opioids are the main culprit behind the growing prescription drug abuse problem plaguing the state of Kansas. This is similar to what is being seen at the national level where more than 66 percent of all drug overdose deaths involved opioids.
Experts now believe that the rising opioid epidemic in Kansas is due to the increase in the use and availability of both illicit and prescription opioids all across the state, as well as the increase in opioid-related mortality and morbidity.
Further, it seems that doctors in the state have been increasing the number of prescriptions that they write for opioids and other medications. This is because many more people now report suffering from various conditions that are best managed using prescription medications.
In 2017, the state lost 11.8 lives to a drug overdose among every segment of 100,000 people. Although most of these overdose fatalities were linked to opioids, the were not included for Kansas. This is because related data findings did not meet all the inclusion criteria.
The same year, the CDC - the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - reported that health care providers in the state wrote a total of 69.8 prescriptions for opioid medications for every segment of 100 people. This was higher than the 58.7 prescriptions for opioids written for the same segment at the national figure.
If you are addicted to a prescription drug, it is recommended that you seek help from an addiction treatment and rehab program. There are many such programs in the state, and they include both inpatient and outpatient drug rehab programs. They can also help you overcome your substance abuse and use crisis.
Since help is available in the form of professionally managed detox and rehabilitation programs, it is important that you get it sooner rather than later. Continued prescription drug abuse will only continue ruining your life and even potentially claim it in one way or the other.
As long as you are enrolled in an addiction treatment program in Kansas, it should be possible for you to overcome your growing addiction, turn your life around, and stop abusing these drugs once and for all.
CITATIONS
http://www.preventoverdoseks.org/download/Kansas_Prescription_Drug_and_Opioid_Misuse_and_Overdose_Strategic_Plan.pdf
https://kaadac.org/resources/Documents/GovSUDTaskForceReport_FINAL.pdf
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/docs/state_profile-kansas.pdf
https://www.alltreatment.com/drug-trends-kansas-city/
https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/Drugdeaths/state/KS
https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/mtgs/pharm_awareness/conf_2017/march_2017/wichita/kenton.pdf
https://www.drugabuse.gov/opioid-summaries-by-state/kansas-opioid-summary
https://www.drugabuse.gov/opioid-summaries-by-state/kansas-opioid-summary
https://fox4kc.com/2019/08/05/kc-braces-for-opioid-surge-as-more-overdose-deaths-reported-in-kansas-missouri/
If you are addicted to alcohol or drugs, it is imperative that you look for professional help as soon as you possibly can. However, you might not know where to start or the options that are open to you. Similarly, you may have little to no idea about the differences between the different treatment facilities and the programs they have in store for their patients.
Do you need help finding the right drug or alcohol rehab facility in your area?
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