'Training needed' to tackle drug addiction problems

Categories

Addiction Treatment
Alcohol
Drugs
Gambling
In the papers
On TV

News Archive

Home » News » Drugs » 'Training needed' to tackle drug addiction problems

by Change | 25 Jun 2009

Bookmark

E-mail

It has been claimed that healthcare professionals need to be given more training on the threat of drug addiction to reduce the number of people on prescribed drugs being forced into rehab centers.

The number of people heading to rehab clinics to beat addictions to prescription drugs could be drastically cut if medical professionals were given more training, it has been claimed.

Joseph A Califano Jr, director and president of the National Center on drug addiction and substance abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, has warned that aggressive marketing of prescription drugs has fuelled a 150 per cent rise in the number of prescriptions made out in the US over recent years.

addiction treatment organisation Narconon of Georgia has warned that this is leading to many more people seeking help for drug addictions caused by prescription drugs and as a result is calling for healthcare professionals to be given more information on the threat of addiction.

"I am disturbed that more than 28 per cent of pharmacists say they fail to regularly validate the prescribing physician's Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration number when dispensing controlled substances," said Dr Califano.

He added: "Today more people are abusing controlled-prescription drugs than the combined number who abuse cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants and heroin."

In the UK, government plans to force people on state benefits who have drug addictions to seek addiction treatment have been branded unworkable by the Liberal Demmocrats.

The Guardian has reported that the party claims current rehab clinic services would be overwhelmed by the vast increase in demand for services if the proposals are put into practice.

Bookmark this: