We’re number #1…according to the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) (via Talk Radio News Service) the US is still the “largest market for illegal drugs in the world” with marijuana and drugs like OxyContin and Vicodin the most widely used.
Are you shocked that the United States takes this title? Consider that an estimated 20% of people in the US have used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons. Considering the US population that’s not a small number of people.
It seems that Americans have decided to make their own decisions about whether or not they will medicate. Although OxyContin can be extremely dangerous and comparable to heroin or crack cocaine when injected or smoked, people seem to find popping pills a routine experience. Which is what makes OxyContin so addictive and so dangerous.
Want to learn more? Check out this excellent documentary from Vanguard journalist Mariana van Zeller, the OxyContin Express:
And of course, you don’t have to wonder whether someone you know and love is abusing prescription drugs. Check out our Vicodin Test / OxyContin Test for more information and to be sure the person you love is clean.
[…] Prescription drug abuse is a major point of focus for our blog, as it is a problem the scope of which is still not fully understood. Florida has received a lot of attention for its pain clinics, but it seems the areas in which prescription drugs are mostly abused are rural (which should come as no surprise to the viewer of the OxyContin Express). […]