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Fighting the epidemic of prescription drug abuse in Colorado

DENVER - Colorado Attorney General John Suthers says the recent overdose deaths of four young people highlight a growing problem in our state.

DENVER - Colorado Attorney General John Suthers says the recent overdose deaths of four young people highlight a growing problem in our state.

Suthers says Colorado is about to begin a focused effort to reduce the abuse of prescription drugs.

"Colorado has a very serious prescription drug abuse problem," Suthers said.

Suthers says we can expect to see a focused effort to fight this problem over the next 6 to 12 months.

Governor Hickenlooper is co-chairing the National Governors Association year-long Prescription Drug Abuse Project.

The goal is to develop strategies to reduce prescription drug abuse that will cut down on this growing epidemic.

Suthers says we have more people dying from prescription drug abuse in Colorado than alcohol-related traffic accidents.

Experts say an addiction to prescription drugs usually begins at home.

"Most of these drugs are being stolen out of medicine cabinets in people's houses," Suthers said.

Prescriptions for drugs like Vicodin, Oxycontin and Valium went from 40 million in 1991 to more than 180 million in 2007.

More drugs are available at home, making their use seem more normal to young people.

"That's serious stuff," Suthers said.

Suthers says, in Adams County alone, 1 in 5 high school students have abused prescription drugs in the last year.

Fourteen-percent of Coloradans 18 to 25 report abusing painkillers.

The overall abuse rate of 6-percent ranks Colorado second-highest in the nation, just behind Oregon.

Sierra Cochran was only 19 when she died of an overdose in 2008.

Her friend Beth Rimstad told 9Wants to Know on July 10 that Cochran was a normal teenager who got hooked.

"She was an amazing girl. She wasn't just some drug addict that got connected with some dealer," Rimstad said.

Arapahoe County investigators say Almeda Sullivan got 21,580 pills from multiple doctors over 5 years.

The former Cherry Creek Schools teacher's aide is accused of selling those pills to students, teaching them how to get high, causing four young people to overdose and die.

Cochran, and 21-year-old Carter Higdon, died inside Sullivan's house in Centennial in separate incidents several years apart.

"We need to shore up our prescription drug monitoring program," Suthers said.

Colorado's prescription drug monitoring program allows physicians to identify patients who are doctor shopping for drugs, but Suthers says only about 20-percent of Colorado doctors participate.

"I think we have to make it mandatory but we also have to make it very user friendly by doctors," Suthers said.

Rehab centers are reporting a 500-percent increase in prescription drug abuse patients and the state is scrambling.

"I think it's going to be a big, big issue in the future," Suthers said.

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