Depressing News Story of The Day
Jan. 21st, 2005 05:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
desertvixenWell, it is for me, but that's because it touched a nerve about some of the situations in my family.
Senior drug addicts increasing
By Charisse Jones, USA TODAY
Evelyn Barnette first got high when she was 19, and for nearly 40 years hid her marijuana and cocaine use behind a mask of respectability. She began using crack three years ago, and that nearly devoured her soul. Thoughts of suicide finally compelled her to seek help. So, she sits with others in their 50s and 60s, a circle of peers, speaking of addiction and healing.
It is a largely unforeseen consequence of the aging of America. As the elderly population continues to grow and baby boomers move into their senior years,the number of older adults who abuse drugs - from pain pills to marijuana and cocaine - is increasing. And the nation should prepare to meet the special needs of older addicts, says Ron Hunsicker of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers.
Yes, I guess we should have expected this. Assuming they survive into middle age and older, why should we expect the addicts to give it up?
Alcohol is the most common substance abused by older adults, followed by prescription drugs
Check. It's gotten to the point with my mother's father that we cannot tell if it is Alzheimer's or simply the result of being a heavy drinker for fifty-some years. How he has escaped cirrhosis I do not know.
My father - I wonder how much his alcohol abuse (recovered alcoholic now) is going to affect his aging and health in his later years. I wonder because I know if there has to be a caretaker, it's going to be me and my husband. I'm an oldest child - an oldest daughter - and my father's only child. I hope all 3 of my parents have long, productive lives, please.
The administration projects that the number of people 50 and older who will need treatment for alcohol or drugs will nearly triple in the next 15 years, to 4.4 million in 2020 from 1.7 million in 2001.
"What we see is basically a steady trend in terms of alcohol admissions, but it's the illicit drug admissions that have been going up over the last 10 years," says Joe Gfroerer of the substance abuse administration.
A key reason for the increase is baby boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964 who often embraced more casual attitudes about marijuana and other drugs. As they age, they may not abandon their drug use or may return to it to cope with loneliness and boredom.
In Detroit, people 50 and older accounted for roughly 20% of the 7,787 admissions last year for substance abuse treatment, says Kanzoni Asabigi, deputy director for Detroit's Bureau of Substance Abuse. That increase prompted the city to contract with an agency that focuses on seniors seeking help.
DV
Senior drug addicts increasing
By Charisse Jones, USA TODAY
Evelyn Barnette first got high when she was 19, and for nearly 40 years hid her marijuana and cocaine use behind a mask of respectability. She began using crack three years ago, and that nearly devoured her soul. Thoughts of suicide finally compelled her to seek help. So, she sits with others in their 50s and 60s, a circle of peers, speaking of addiction and healing.
It is a largely unforeseen consequence of the aging of America. As the elderly population continues to grow and baby boomers move into their senior years,the number of older adults who abuse drugs - from pain pills to marijuana and cocaine - is increasing. And the nation should prepare to meet the special needs of older addicts, says Ron Hunsicker of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers.
Yes, I guess we should have expected this. Assuming they survive into middle age and older, why should we expect the addicts to give it up?
Alcohol is the most common substance abused by older adults, followed by prescription drugs
Check. It's gotten to the point with my mother's father that we cannot tell if it is Alzheimer's or simply the result of being a heavy drinker for fifty-some years. How he has escaped cirrhosis I do not know.
My father - I wonder how much his alcohol abuse (recovered alcoholic now) is going to affect his aging and health in his later years. I wonder because I know if there has to be a caretaker, it's going to be me and my husband. I'm an oldest child - an oldest daughter - and my father's only child. I hope all 3 of my parents have long, productive lives, please.
The administration projects that the number of people 50 and older who will need treatment for alcohol or drugs will nearly triple in the next 15 years, to 4.4 million in 2020 from 1.7 million in 2001.
"What we see is basically a steady trend in terms of alcohol admissions, but it's the illicit drug admissions that have been going up over the last 10 years," says Joe Gfroerer of the substance abuse administration.
A key reason for the increase is baby boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964 who often embraced more casual attitudes about marijuana and other drugs. As they age, they may not abandon their drug use or may return to it to cope with loneliness and boredom.
In Detroit, people 50 and older accounted for roughly 20% of the 7,787 admissions last year for substance abuse treatment, says Kanzoni Asabigi, deputy director for Detroit's Bureau of Substance Abuse. That increase prompted the city to contract with an agency that focuses on seniors seeking help.
DV
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Pain pills
Date: 2005-01-22 02:31 pm (UTC)Two of the drugs given me after my pregnancy (some complications ensued) were addictive, one v. much so. If I weren't such an obsessive looker-upper I'd have had to add coming down off a mood-altering drug to my post-partum woes.
Feh!