PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE PREVENTION PROGRAM 

HIGHLIGHTS

National Drug Facts Week •  October 31–November 6, 2011.

2011 Colorado Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness Week • November 7-11, 2011

Colorado Prescription Drug Abuse Abuse Forum • November 10, 2011 • Presented by Peer Assistance Services, Inc. and the Colorado Division of Behavioral Health • More details

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE FACTS 
  • Yearly deaths related to the most commonly abused prescription drugs nearly doubled from 228 in 2000, to 445 in 2009. Deaths related to the abuse of prescription opioids such as oxycodone, hydrocodone and fentanyl more than doubled from 180 in 2000, to 392 in 2009.1
  • In 2009, more than twice as many people in Colorado died from prescription drug abuse (445)2 than from drunk-driving related crashes (158).3
  • In 2009, 70% of the drug-related deaths in Denver involved the abuse of prescription drugs.4
  • According to the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, oxycodone prescriptions for Denver residents increased by 43.5% between 2007 and 2010. During that same time, hydrocodone prescriptions increased by 9.9%.5
  • Data from the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program from 2007 to early 2010 show an average of 41,203 hydrocodone prescriptions and 34,516 oxycodone prescriptions filled for Denver residents every three months.5
  • During three National Take-Back Initiative events in 2010 and 2011, hosted by the U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration and local law enforcement agencies, Coloradans turned in more than 35,000 pounds of unused medication.6
  • A 2009 Youth at Risk Survey conducted in a Denver-Metro community revealed that more than 33% of high school students had abused prescription medication.7 This is significantly higher than the national data of 1 in 5 teens (20.9%), reporting the abuse of prescription drugs in 2009.8
  • Many teens feel that prescription drugs are “safer to use” than street drugs since they are prescribed by a physician. Teens also state that they are "easier to get than beer,"9 because prescription medications are easily obtained from friends and family medicine cabinets. 
1 Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Health Statistics Section (Oct 2010) based on ICD-10 codes related to the cause of death. 2 Ibid. 3 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Traffic Safety Facts Colorado, 2005-2009. 4 Denver Office of Drug Strategy, The Denver Drug Strategy Commission, (April 2011), Denver Substance Abuse Trends Proceedings of the Denver Epidemiology Work Group, Denver Medical Examiner’s Office Autopsy Reports for drug related decedents. 5 Denver Office of Drug Strategy, The Denver Drug Strategy Commission, (Oct 2010) Denver Substance Abuse Trends Proceedings of the Denver Epidemiology Work Group, Colorado Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. 6 Drug Enforcement Administration, Denver Field Division, November 3, 2011. 7 Bounds, A. (2010, June 26). Boulder Valley High School Prescription Drug Abuse Drawing Concern. Boulder Daily Camera, Retrieved from www.dailycamera.com. Accessed on May 23, 2011. 8 Johnston, L.D., O’Malley, P.M., Bachman, J.G., & Schulenberg, J.E. (2011). Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, 1975-2010: Volume I, Secondary school students. Ann Arbor: Institute for Social Research, The University of Michigan. 9 The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (2008). National Survey on American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XIII: Teens and Parents.