The epidemic of prescription painkiller overuse has been found to be particularly widespread in Oregon, which in turn has increased the risk of more babies being born with a drug dependence. Steve Best has details…
A recent federal study suggests that Oregon’s rate of use of painkillers without a prescription is second highest in the U.S. after Oklahoma.
Research has found that states where the largest amounts of painkillers are prescribed tend to also see the highest rates of abuse and overdose deaths.
Public health authorities say medical caregivers have helped fuel the overuse and outright abuse of painkilling drugs by prescribing them too freely and with too little monitoring of patients.
And a national report finds that the number of newborns addicted to painkillers has more than doubled in the past decade in some parts of the country.
