Prescription drug deaths rise in San Diego

Deaths and emergency room visits from prescription drug abuse have climbed every year since the county started tracking the data in 2007 and more young adults are seeking treatment for the problem in San Diego County, according to a study released Monday.

Easy availability of prescription drugs and the publics perception that theyre not dangerous, even in high doses, accounts for much of the problem, county officials said. Officials held a news conference Monday to unveil the countys first Prescription Drug Abuse Report Card that takes a five-year snapshot of the problem.

They also urged people to get educated on prescription drug dependency, and to get help if they or anyone they know is struggling with the problem.

Our goal is to motivate people to take action and to reduce access to prescription drugs for those who dont need them, said Nick Machione, director of the County Health and Human Services Agency. We knew prescription drug abuse was on the rise in San Diego County. We now have the statistics to prove it.

From 2007 to 2010, prescription drug-related emergency room visits jumped 64 percent, with more than 2,900 people getting treatment at local ERs in 2010. From 2007 to 2011, deaths related to prescription drugs increased by 27 percent, with 267 deaths last year, according to the report.

More adults sought treatment for prescription drug abuse, with the percentage of young adults ages 18-25 jumping from nearly 20 percent in 2007 to almost 40 percent in 2011. And last year, nearly 20 percent of 11th graders surveyed in San Diego reported abusing prescription drugs sometime in their lives.

On Monday, county officials focused an apparently growing problem among teens and young adults.

Many young people and adults think that anything that comes from a doctor is safe, said county Supervisor Pam Slater-Price. But they can be deadly if misused.

The report card was issued by the county Prescription Drug Task Force, comprised of health and law enforcement agencies, which Slater-Price convened in 2007 after seeing a spurt of prescription drug abuse among teens along the state Route 56 corridor between Carmel Valley and Poway.

Slater-Price heard teens were holdingpharm parties where bowls of painkillers or tranquilizers often gleaned from home medicine cabinets were offered as trail mix. For some teens, prescription drugs were just the start of their troubles, she said. Often, kids get started on prescription drugs and then can no longer afford them and go on to using heroin, Slater-Price said.

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Prescription drug deaths rise in San Diego