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BAY MILLS - The non-medical abuse of prescription drugs is a growing public health problem, not only for the Bay Mills Indian Community, but also for the country as a whole. Since the elderly are more often prescribed medications than their younger counterparts, they are the most vulnerable to prescription drug abuse or misuse.
As evident by the recent wave of breaking and entering complaints, the elderly are also a prime target of those who will resort to criminal acts to obtain these drugs. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, an estimated 48 million people, ages 12 and older, or approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population, have used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons in their lifetimes.
For Bay Mills Health Center Nurse Practitioner Wendy Jamros, the increasing abuse of prescription drugs is alarming. Because these medicines are being prescribed for a wide variety of health problems, they are more accessible than other types of drugs, therefore more susceptible to misuse or abuse. According to Jamros, the four main prescription drugs being abused in the community are Vicoden, Percocet, Darvocet and OxyContin. These drugs are all narcotics, meaning they are a combination of Tylenol or Motrin and synthetic opium. Jamros said these narcotics bond to the opium receptors of the brain, which is why these people get a "high" from them. While they are sometimes misused and abused, she noted that narcotics are very effective for pain relief. And while some really do depend on these drugs to treat their chronic pain, Jamros said there are also those who come in just to get the drugs.
"We call it the drug wars," Jamros said of trying to distinguish those who actually need the narcotics and those who are just trying to feed an addiction to them. "A lot of people effectively obtain narcotics because they're very sophisticated at manipulating the system. They understand what restraints health care providers have, and they play on those in order to get what they want."
Jamros said the health center has taken some steps to cut down on the abuse of narcotics by their patients, and hopefully, to reduce the prevalence of prescription drugs in the community.
For short-term pain, Jamros said that people are prescribed a very limited amount, which encourages short-term follow-ups. If they need more than they have been prescribed, they must come back and be reevaluated by health center staff, complete with all the necessary MRIs and X-Rays.
Long-term users of narcotics, who are the ones that usually need them the most, must now sign a Narcotic Management Agreement with the health center. The agreement states that users cannot use more than the amount prescribed, cannot try to obtain them from any other source, and they must agree to have periodic urine tests, or blood samples to check for the presence of other medicines.
Under the agreement, any "misplaced," or "lost" pills cannot be refilled. Stolen medications can be replaced, but only if a police report was filed and has been deemed a legitimate theft, Jamros noted. Anyone who does not comply entirely with this agreement can lose their rights to obtain narcotic prescriptions from the center permanently.
"The implementation of the Narcotic Management Agreement, coupled with a more stringent monitoring process, has proven to decrease inappropriate requests for narcotics," Jamros said. "We are hoping that in coalition with our partners, law enforcement, substance abuse professionals and the members of this community, that this will help to decrease the effects the abuse of these narcotics can have on our community."
Jamros said abusing these narcotics poses a number of health risks, ranging from liver failure and bleeding ulcers to respiratory arrest, coma or death. They are particularly dangerous when snorted, taken with another drug (i.e. alcohol), or not taken as prescribed (i.e. overdose), she added.
In addition to the health risks, Jamros said there are a number of social implications that abusing these drugs could cause, such as loss of employment, severing family ties, and ruining close relationships with families and friends. As evident by the recent criminal acts and the effect they've had on the sense of security of this community, the abusers are affecting not only their lives, but also the lives of everyone around them.
"Some people are living in misery because of the control a substance has over them," she said. "They are physiologically addicted and their obsession with these drugs will ruin their lives over time. Their circumstances will continue to worsen, unless they choose to seek help."
Anyone seeking help for an addiction can contact his or her primary health care provider for a non-judgmental and confidential evaluation at the Bay Mills Health Center at 906-248-5527 vioral Health Center at 906-248-3204.
