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Houston Harris County Office of Drug Policy
In the News
- Drug Enforcement Administration, Houston Field Office, Heads First Ever Citywide and Nationwide Prescription Drug Take-Back Campaign (.html, Houston Crackdown Website)
- Operation Medicine Cabinet – Memorial Examiner - Feb. 25, 2010 (.pdf)
HOUSTON - From Brittany Murphy to Corey Haim, it seems like more and more celebrity deaths are linked to prescription drug use. In fact, many rehab specialists say the rampant use of these drugs is almost commonplace.
"Celebrities will get the headlines, but it's an epidemic across all levels," said Mark Norris, Clinical Manager for the Cenikor Foundation in Deer Park.
He says prescription drugs are widely used, simply because they're not taboo like street drugs.
"We're seeing now that prescription drugs are the 2nd most widely abused drug after marijuana," said Norris.
And the Houston area is no exception.
"We find a lot of especially the younger demographic abusing these drugs. One thing about these drugs are they're highly addictive," said Norris.
We spoke with several recovering teens at this 5k walk for the Palmer Drug Abuse Center.
The teens say getting help saved their lives.
"I haven't been sober in the last four years, but for maybe a month because I was on probation. Since then, I've been sober two months now and I'm really happy with it. Like, I don't want to use anymore. I don't have a reason to," said one patient.
Norris says the only real solution is rehab, but cops need more funding for prevention.
"They're getting better at looking into this problem, but Houston's a big city and there's a lot of this going on," said Norris.
Rehab specialists say drug therapy can be free, or can cost tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the program. Most programs last for about a month, but three to six months is recommended in most cases.