Painkiller abuse problem deadly

DES MOINES (AP) — Deaths from prescription painkillers are increasing in Iowa because the drugs are readily available and people, especially young people, falsely see them as a fairly safe way to get high, experts told a state task force looking into the problem.

"They say it's easier to find than pot. For them, it's easier to find than alcohol," said Dr. Dennis Weis, who runs an addiction treatment center in Des Moines.

Weis spoke Tuesday at the first meeting of the task force, which was formed by the Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy.

According to the office, the state had at least 40 deaths from narcotic painkiller overdoses in 2009, up from three in 2000.

Such deaths have become more than three times as common as deaths from overdoses of illicit drugs, such as methamphetamine, cocaine or heroin, according to the state.

The State Medical Examiner's Office is seeing more than 100 deaths per year stemming from drug overdoses, said John Kraemer, the office's forensics director. Most involve a mixture of drugs, including prescriptions and even over-the-counter cough syrups, plus illicit drugs.

In some cases, Fentanyl patches, which normally are placed on the skin, are found stuck to the tongues of those who have died. Kraemer said they apparently were trying to suck the powerful painkiller out of the patches.

Most of the overdose cases are ruled accidents, though some are suicides, Kraemer said.

Investigators routinely find numerous medication bottles with prescriptions from several doctors. That suggests that the drug users were "doctor shopping," or going to multiple doctors with the same complaint.

Two years ago, Iowa started a computerized registry that tracks every prescription narcotics purchase at Iowa pharmacies. The purpose was to allow physicians and pharmacists to check whether a patient already had received prescriptions from other health care providers.

Only 19 percent of the physicians and 33 percent of pharmacists have signed up for passwords so they can check the registry.

"I'm disappointed in my profession," said Des Moines pharmacist Mark Richards, who believes the system offers a helpful way to prevent doctor shopping.

Mark Schouten, director of the Office of Drug Control Policy, said the task force would have at least two more meetings before making recommendations to the governor and legislators.

He said that they are not placing blame and that physicians should feel free to prescribe medications and that patients shouldn't be afraid to take them.

Schouten said he sees no need for dramatic policy changes, but "we may need to do some tweaking" to prevent painkillers from being abused.