5 Nov 2013

At Narconon Suncoast, we help people beat their addiction to all types of drugs, from street drugs to those prescribed by a doctor.  While we often concentrate on rehabilitation, we also work toward educating others about the dangers of drugs and drug abuse.  We aren’t alone in this endeavor.  There are people all around the US working toward drug abuse prevention and education.  One such person is Larry Golbom who hosts the Prescription Addiction Radio Show here in Florida. 

Prescription Addiction Radio Logo

We had the opportunity to interview Larry and discuss what he calls the “silent epidemic” – that is the abuse of and addiction to prescription medications.

Interviewer: What first brought your attention to the prescription drug epidemic?

Larry:  As a pharmacist, I was surprised to see a family member get involved with opioids.  It was a reminder that the medical profession wasn’t well informed about what these drugs do.

I reported a doctor who put pills on the street to the Department of Health.  After consistently following the case up, contacting my senator and stat representative, and writing to the governor, the doctor went before the medical board.  This was in 2003, and the medical board at the time fined him, had him do remedial courses, and then allowed him to continue to practice.  There’s a much bigger crackdown on this sort of situation now – but that’s how it was handled then.

In my professional life, I see how dangerous these drugs are.  They were and are being dispensed everywhere and few really have a handle on the danger.

Graph of increasing medicine usage

Interviewer: What is your mission with Prescription Addiction Radio?

Larry: The show has evolved over the years.  Its current focus is on education, education, education.  This country has to discuss the growing culture of drugs – not just the US, but North America.  I know I have listeners that span across the continent, in both the US and in Canada.

The reality is we have a growing epidemic.  It’s time this country realized that.

Interviewer: What makes you call it a “silent” epidemic?

Larry: The reality is everybody knows somebody who has been affected by drugs.  It is affecting every community in the country.  Police and public officials know what’s happening.  But when an official talks about it, it puts a bad light on the community, so they don’t talk about it.  It becomes a silent problem.

There are so many statistics on this subject.  For example, we are losing more people to overdoses than car accidents.  In an informational age, an age with instant communication, an age of enlightenment, we are losing tens of thousands of lives and millions more are addicted, yet it remains silent.

Because this problem is so widespread, everybody is an expert when it comes to substance misuse.  But we just aren’t talking about it and bringing it to light like it should be.

Interviewer: On your website, you say that some of these drugs are overprescribed by doctors who don’t know the dangers and side effects of the drugs.  How is that possible?

Larry: The problem we have is that the drug companies are dictating the education today.  They help fund medical schools and journals.  The information the doctors get is filtered through the perspective of their education.  The medical model is being created by the drug companies.

We had a recent show about Chantix, a new drug that’s supposed to help you quit smoking.  Right now, it all sounds rosy in medical journals and so forth.  But the company that creates Chantix recently had to pay off a huge settlement and a few years earlier there was a big issue in the news about Chantix trial users committing suicide.  But this isn’t what gets published in the places doctors look at for their research.

The mantra in the medical profession is “safe as prescribed.”  They consider it an aberration when someone gets into trouble.  There’s certainly a monetary incentive to take the 5-10 minutes it takes to prescribe something, instead of doing a more in-depth analysis of the patient.

Another thing that people should understand is that prescription drugs have become more than one specific class of focus.  We used to think of opioids, psychotropics, anti-anxiety, muscle relaxants, and amphetamines as separate conversations.  However, today’s medical practice has often lumped them all together.  There is seldom a person who is on just an opioid without also being on a cocktail of drugs that includes many of these categories we used to think of as separate.  For example, a person is rarely on “just a psychotropic” without an anti-anxiety medication or sleeping pill to take later on in the day.

The overriding problem in my opinion is that once a person begins the prescription route for a long period of time, they find that they cannot stop taking the pills without feeling sick or suffering severe withdrawal.  My case in point: from a half to two thirds of the people taking a benzodiazepine cannot stop taking them without a severe reaction like a seizure or other reaction.

Interviewer: You mainly address OxyContin abuse on your website, but from the shows I’ve heard, other drugs also come under scrutiny.  Which drugs do you concentrate upon and why?

Larry: This is a part time passion for me.  It takes a couple of days to put show together.  So I take anything that grabs me that week as the topic.  There are many modern issues that can be linked as a cause or effect of drug misuse.

One thing we discussed recently was the drugging of children.  I think giving drugs to children is child abuse.  These are brains not developed, they are growing, how can you give a child these chemicals while they are developing?

I’m proud that thousands of people know about the show.  I’ve been doing this for seven years.  The message somehow permeates to the rest of the country.  I was one of the first to talk about OxyContin.  I’ve seen lines that I’ve said on past shows in articles written by others, all across the country.

Interviewer: What are your goals for future outreach and expansion?

Larry: Everyone who goes behind the microphone would like to garner a larger audience.  Long term, I would like to see the show get into other markets.  Of course on the short term, I’d like to garner more advertising support.

I really believe in what Suncoast is doing as far as treatment is concerned.  When I first started the show, I thought every rehab facility in the country should grab on to the show, but I find that most treatment and rehab facilities don’t want to stop the epidemic.  In fact, many treatment programs send people out with drugs.

Interviewer: We recently ran an article on the Pill Mill situation here in Florida.  Can you comment on the progress that’s being made on this?

LarryFlorida is the leader in shutting them down and there are a lot of people involved in that. 

FinalPic

Law enforcement and pharmacists started to say no.  They stopped filling the prescriptions.  But it was a combination of factors.  Law enforcement shut down some pharmacies and it gave pharmacists the incentive to say no.  Pharmacies like Walgreens were pressuring pharmacists to fill prescriptions no matter what, and now they’ve done a 180 degree turn around on it.

Interviewer: Is there anything else you’d like to say before we wrap up here?

Larry: Again, I want to thank Suncoast for the support.  The goal is to see fewer people using drugs, fewer addicts.  Suncoast is the best and they will always be there.  Less sincere operations are the ones who have to worry about the show’s message going out.

We are facing the money train of drugs, starting with the distribution and the end is the recovery aspect.  The radio show is a challenge because I challenge all pieces of the train.

We want to thank Larry and all those like him who take the time and energy to educate our nation about the prescription drug issues in America today.  Such education and outspoken dedication helps bring to light situations which may not be spoken about otherwise.

If you or someone you know is suffering in silence from addiction, contact us today at (877) 850-7355.  Our goal is to help a person leave addiction behind and go on to live a happy, drug-free life.

Refs: PrescriptionAddictionRadio.com

NARCONON SUNCOAST

DRUG EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION