LAS VEGAS - Prescription drug deaths have skyrocketed - exploding into epidemic proportions, stealing lives and tearing communities apart.
Las Vegas Recovery Center Vice President of Business Development Mark Greenberg was clean and sober for nearly 30 years, but a fall on a New York sidewalk in 2001 caused unbearable pain in his neck, arms, and hands. He needed prescription pain medication.
"It kind of woke up the lion in the cage," he said. "Over a period of time, the addiction increased. Not only was I taking Lortab, hydrocodone, but I was taking Somas. I was taking Xanax. I was taking Ambien to fall asleep, and the mixture of all that was completely destroying my life."
Ironically, Greenberg worked in the field of alcohol and drug treatment.
"It was absolutely horrific," he said. "I think in my case too of being locked into that internal jail of having to live a double life, and living a life of a lie because I was an addiction treatment professional that was hooked."
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"The Las Vegas cocktail is Lortab and Soma," said Las Vegas Recovery Center Medical Director Dr. Mel Pohl. "We're known for the readily availability of drugs in casinos, in clubs, and nowadays, it's not just alcohol people are abusing. It's prescription drugs."
Alcohol used to be why most people went into rehab in Las Vegas. Now, prescription drugs are the culprit.
"I think the epidemic starts with our attitude toward prescribing it, and I think we're an overprescribing culture," Dr. Pohl said. "'You have a symptom, I have a medication for it, and I'm going to prescribe it. I'm going to prescribe it in large quantities.'"
Greenberg has been clean for four years. He just joined the staff at the Las Vegas Recovery Center and agrees about where the problem lies.
"It's just unbelievable the amount of medication that's being prescribed," he said.
The Centers for Disease Control says men are more likely than women to die of prescription painkiller overdose. Middle-aged adults have the highest prescription painkiller overdose rates.
Officials say healthcare providers and patients should be educated on the risks of these drugs and be sure to properly dispose of any unneeded medication.
