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Michigan Officials Note Alarming Prescription Drug Abuse Trends in the State
Officials in Michigan agencies have stressed the alarming rates of overdose and addiction associated with prescription drug abuse in the state. According to the Detroit Free Press, in Michigan, of every 100,000 patient visits to the emergency room due to a drug overdose, 310 are associated with prescription drug abuse, compared with the national rate of 238 in 100,000. Larry Scott, of Michigan's Bureau of Substance Abuse and Addiction, told the Detroit Free Press that the rate of prescription drug overdose fatalities continues to increase in the state, with 457 deaths due to prescription drug abuse and overdose in 2009, up from 409 deaths in 2008. Statistics indicate that more Michigan residents are dying from prescription drug abuse than from use of heroin and cocaine combined. Michigan substance abuse recovery programs have seen an increase in admissions for prescription drug addiction. Francine Sumner, founder of the Michigan public education program, Project Opiates, and a Livingston County, MI, probation officer, stated that more and more individuals confronting prescription drug addiction indicate that they began abusing the drugs as early as their middle or high school years.
