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Drug Overdoses: A Case Study

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Drug Overdoses: A Case Study
In 2013, there were approximately 44,000 deaths related to drug related overdoses. Approximately 16,000 of those deaths were caused by drug overdoses attributed to prescription pain-medications, such as Vicodin, hydrocodone, and OxyContin (Volkow, 2016). Because of this, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) stepped in, and implemented new regulations that would limit the availability of prescription pain medication (Cherny, 2010; Satel, 2004). The new regulations restrict the amount of pain-medications that can be prescribed by a doctor, the amount that can be prescribed during a set period, and the duration in which a single patient can have access to pain-medication (Dewell, 2016; Fazeli, 2011). The new regulations adopted by the …show more content…
Schedule III drugs abuse potential is less than Schedule I and Schedule II drugs, but more than Schedule IV. Some examples of Schedule III drugs are: Products containing less than 90 milligrams of codeine per dosage unit (Tylenol with codeine), ketamine, anabolic steroids, and testosterone" (Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21: §1308.13 – Schedule …show more content…
In 2010, the DEA campaigned to change the recommendations regarding and requiring that doctors and pharmacist share the responsibility in narcotic prescriptions, and the legitimacy that the prescription(s) being filled are in fact for a legitimate medical purpose. The new regulations were set to ensure that those individuals (doctors and pharmacist) writing and/or dispensing controlled substances would be held accountable for said dispensing by placing them on a codified list that flagged every disbursement made by each individual. Among this list are categories within which various descriptions are given, one being those that are often sought for by drug abusers. The consequences that a doctor or pharmacy may face are dire. For example, in late 2014, the DEA along with the Colorado U. S. Attorney's Office filed charges against Walgreens Corporation for a dispensing violation for civil penalties under the Controlled Substances Act (Larrat, 2014; Ruble, 2013). Among these charges were fraudulent prescriptions, filling prescriptions written by a physician in violation of DEA regulation, and dispensing controlled substances to customers without an updated prescription (Ruble,
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