A growing body of the U.S. population, particularly the millennial generation, knows someone struggling with addiction to prescription painkillers.
A survey from the American Psychiatric Association (APA) released Monday shows more than 25 percent of American adults know someone actively abusing their prescription medication. The data revealed the problem is even worse among young Americans. Roughly one-in-three millennials says they know someone addicted to painkillers, reports Lincoln Journal Star.
Nearly half of millennials also said it would be easy for them to get their hands on illegal painkillers, and roughly 18 percent think it is okay to share prescriptions with friends. The survey also looked at attitudes in the U.S. towards solving the epidemic, finding a majority of adults believe treatment programs, not a law enforcement crackdown, is the right way to combat opioid addiction.
“Our poll findings show that Americans are aware of the problem of opioid addiction, believe people can recover and want to see an emphasis on making treatment available,”cccording to Lincoln Journal Star. “The number of young people, 1 in 5, who believe it’s OK to share prescriptions is troubling.”
A record 33,000 Americans died from opioid related overdoses in 2015, according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, contributing to the first drop in U.S. life expectancy since 1993 and eclipsing deaths from motor vehicle accidents.
Experts agree on the need for greater access to addiction treatment counseling and greater education of the population about the dangers posed by opiate-based medication. Officials with the DEA say four out of five new heroin addicts start with painkillers.
President Donald Trump appointed a bipartisan group of lawmakers to a White House commission addressing the opioid crisis May 10, with GOP New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at the helm. Trump signed an executive order creating the commission on March 29, which requires interim recommendations for addressing opioid addiction within 90 days and final recommendations by Oct.1.
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