Commentary: New face of addiction in

America
By Jane Velez-Mitchell
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Addiction in America has a new face: prescription drugs. Last year,
prescription drugs replaced heroin and cocaine as the leading cause of deadly oerdoses.
And cele!rities are showing us that mi"ing prescription pills -- the pills you may hae in your
home right now -- could !e #ust as deadly as shooting up heroin or snorting cocaine.
Adam $oldstein, a%a &J AM, seems to !e the latest well-%nown ictim of a deadly dose of
drugs.
'he cele!rity &J was found dead in his (ew )or% apartment on August *+. A law
enforcement source tells ,eople magazine that $oldstein was found with eight undigested
-"y.ontin pills in his stomach plus a ninth in his mouth. /'he medical e"aminer0s office told
1L( it would not release any information on the case until further testing is completed.2
3ound familiar4 Michael Jac%son, 1eath Ledger, Anna (icole 3mith -- all ictims of deadly
prescription drug oerdoses.
But this is not only happening to rich and famous 5stars,5 it0s also happening right now, as we
spea%, to aerage Joes and Janes in homes all across America.
According to statistics from the -ffice of (ational &rug .ontrol ,olicy, there are some *6,666
drug-related deaths a year in the 7nited 3tates. 8en more shoc%ing than the deaths of all of
our mothers, fathers, !rothers, sisters and children is that drugs prescri!ed !y a doctor -- not
!ought off the streets -- were the leading cause of fatal oerdoses.
America, we need to wa%e up9 A prescription written on a pad !y a doctor does not e:ual
safe. ;hen prescri!ed responsi!ly, ta%en as directed and %ept out of reach of children,
pain%illers, anti-depressants, anti-an"iety meds -- any pill -- can !e a godsend to the people
who need those drugs to lie day-to-day. But all too often, those ta!lets intended for one
particular patient get into the hands, the mouths, the !loodstreams of those #ust loo%ing to
get high.
<n my new !oo%, 5i;ant,5 < tal% a!out my addiction to alcohol. Before < got so!er, < would
occasionally ta%e a Valium with a glass of wine. Alcohol was my main ice. < wasn0t a pill
addict, !ut < did pop a few. ;ant to %now how < got them4 ;ell it wasn0t from a doctor. < got
them from friends. 'hat0s how it wor%s.
<n the !oo%, < write a!out #ust how common that %ind of prescription a!use was. ;e used to
say that if someone at a stadium in Los Angeles as%ed if anyone had a alium, eeryone in
the stands could immediately produce one.
3o how do we een start to cure this epidemic4 =irst and foremost we need to stop
e"pecting to get a pill for eery ache and pain we complain to our doctors a!out. Addiction
specialist &r. &rew ,ins%y pointed out recently on my show, 5<ssues,5 that, 5'he medicines
we hae today are miraculous. 'hey are spectacularly effectie. 'han% goodness we hae
these su!stances. -nly !ecause there0s a dar% side to this, we hae to !ecome less
dependent on them and see% them less.5
;hat we0re really #onesing for, what we0re really addicted to, is the :uic% fi". &r. $ail 3altz, a
clinical psychiatrist, was on 5<ssues5 a few wee%s ago. 3he says many people, especially
cele!rities, 5don0t want to ta%e the long road. 'hey want the :uic% fi". 'hey want the 0gie me
something so < can feel !etter in an hour.0 And they0re not willing to do the wor%.5
&octors %now when to prescri!e medicine to heal us. ;hat we hae to do is stop e"pecting a
,ercocet for a toothache or a Valium for a !rea%up. <f a drug is the proper therapy for what is
hurting us, then we should ta%e it, and ta%e it as directed, !ut remem!er you can also as%
your doctor a!out nonpharmaceutical remedies. -ftentimes there are alternatie therapies
we can choose that may not !e the easy way out, !ut are effectie and drug free.
&octors hae some responsi!ility in all this, too. As we learned through the inestigation into
Michael Jac%son0s death, there are allegations of unscrupulous practices !y some of his
doctors and pharmacists. )es, someone has to as% for the drugs, !ut it ta%es someone with
access to these pharmaceuticals to get them into an addict0s hands. Better trac%ing, !etter
oersight and stricter controls oer controlled su!stances are all desperately needed.
But no matter how self disciplined we are or how controlled medicines are, there will !e
those who !ecome addicted. <t0s ital that we0re a!le to reach out for help when we need it.
;e had all loo%ed to $oldstein as a great e"ample of recoery. 1e said he0d !een clean and
so!er for more than a decade. 3adly, according to the Los Angeles 'imes, #ust a day !efore
his death, &J AM met with his sponsor to admit he0d relapsed and wanted to go !ac% to
reha!.
As a recoering alcoholic, < %now how strong the draw of drugs and alcohol can !e and <
%now where to turn for help when the urges come. 1oweer, far too many of our families, our
friends and neigh!ors do not. 8ffectie and afforda!le treatment has to !e aaila!le to all.
;e0e heard from so many iewers of 5<ssues5 oer the months who are struggling with
addiction -- and een more who are liing in recoery. (ot one of those e-mails or =ace!oo%
comments came from someone famous.
<t0s heart!rea%ing that < can0t reach out to each and eery one of you, !ut through reporting
on the struggles of the people whose names or faces we can all recognize, we hope that
5<ssues5 is proiding a light and a hope and a reason for you to stay clean, get healthy and
thin% a!out your choices. -r reach out to someone who needs help.
3eptem!er is (ational &rug and Alcohol Addiction >ecoery Month. <sn0t this a great time for
America to say, 51ey, we hae an epidemic on our hands and we need to do something
a!out it45
Miranda Simon
Tootalian
English 12
The article, Commentary: New face of addiction in America y !ane "ele#$
Mitchell is ao%t how &rescri&tion dr%gs are eing a%sed now' E(en when they are )%st
in someone*s cainet, a teen is ale to get a hold of them and %se them in the wrong way'
Some &eo&le get &ills for reasons that aren*t e(en necessary, and they start to a%se them'
This is )%st as deadly as shooting %& heroin or snorting cocaine' +rescri&tion &ills are too
easy to get, and &eo&le start to ta,e them so they can get high, not for the reason they
needed the &ill' Teens mostly get them right from their cainet at home, or maye e(en a
friend' America needs to reali#e what is going on and start &%tting their &ills in safer
&laces'
This article relates to leadershi& eca%se America needs to reali#e what is going
on and lead their teens or anyone they ,now in a different direction' They need to ta,e the
lead and hel& slow down the a%se of &rescri&tion &ills' They also need to lead o%rsel(es
to not de&end on &ills and e-&ect them for e(erything they do' .nly eca%se there/s a
dar, side to this, we ha(e to ecome less de&endent on them and see, them less0"ele#$
Mitchell 21' America needs to ta,e the lead and do what they can to &re(ent &rescri&tion
&ill a%se'