Combat Veterans in San Diego Represent Significant Population of OxyContin Addicts
It isn't unreasonable to think that a war veteran can come home from battle hurt and needing medication for their pain. It can be very common for a veteran to be prescribed OxyContin to treat severe pain - but even taking the medication for legitimate reasons can lead to an addiction.
A recent 10 News report found that while the VA offers a tracking system to keep its veterans from overloading on medications, it does not stop them from seeking out medical help elsewhere. One veteran interviewed for this piece pointed out that he simply went from doctor to doctor, fraudulently convincing clinics and hospitals that he needed more medication.
This particular veteran soon tired of the lying to gain the medications he needed, but he easily found another source. A five-minute drive across the U.S.-Mexico border to Tijuana led him to a number of pharmacies that do not require a prescription. A follow-up by the news source revealed a number of pharmacies willing to sell the pills for $40 each with no questions asked.
Dr. Shawn Evans runs the emergency room at Scipps La Jolla and has personally seen many OxyContin-linked deaths in the ER. "It's absolutely devastating," said Dr. Evans. "It's the impact of the drug in the body that shuts down the brain's ability to send a signal to breathe.”
In San Diego county, OxyContin-related deaths are on the rise. In 2008, 51 people locally died from OxyContin-related causes - more than triple the number from the year prior.
Dr. James Michelsen of the VA Hospital in San Diego is the first point of contact for combat veterans. He noted that one in 50 combat veterans screen positive for pain killer addiction, mainly OxyContin. In the San Diego area, that is roughly 400 veterans - double the addiction rate of the general population.