Soaring Painkiller Sales Prompt Concerns

According to an Associated Press analysis, the number of painkiller addicts in the U.S. is rising in tandem with an increase in the sales of potent painkillers, including oxycodone. This is leading to concerns over the rising number of addicts and a lack of places to treat them.

The AP reported that pharmacies received and dispensed around 69 tons of pure oxycodone and 42 tons of pure hydrocodone in 2010. In some U.S. locations, the sales of oxycodone have increased as much as sixteenfold, with the strongest sales being in Tennessee and Kentucky.

The increase in sales can be partially attributed to the increase in older patients and injured veterans needing painkillers. However, the powerful drugs have also been targeted by thieves in nursing facilities.

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