Elderly Drug Abuse: An Invisible Epidemic

Addiction is often viewed as an issue that exists mainly among young people. And while drug use continues to rise among adolescents and teens, it’s addiction to alcohol, heroin and prescription painkillers that surrounds the elderly community that is most hidden — yet prevalent — in the country; older people are not only more likely to be diagnosed with chronic illnesses that require prescription medication, but as the body ages, older people are more susceptible to drug dependencies.

According to AgingCare, the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported that in 2008, “the number of people who were 50 years of age and older who requested help for substance abuse was, 231,200. When compared with the 1992 figure of only 102,700 people, this increase is staggering… it has been estimated that the number of prescription drug abusers over the age of 50 may reach 2.7 million by the year 2020.”

Why would an elderly person who suffers with addiction go so unnoticed, or avoid treating his or her own addiction?

Shame. Older addicts are often too ashamed or embarrassed to talk about addiction.Family denial. Family members are commonly in denial of their loved one’s addiction and struggle with connecting their loved one to the stigma attached to substance abuse. Children of elderly parents don’t often want to admit that their parent is not the same as he or she once was, and is now “an addict.”The elderly don’t typically commit crimes to obtain drugs, so law enforcement doesn’t have a reason, or chance, to crack down… therefore, drug use among elderly often goes unnoticed, and thus prohibition can’t be enforced.

The Boston Globe recently reported on an event held in Boston, called Opiate 101, that focused on how seniors can safely discard prescription medicine to prevent young people from gaining access to the drugs, though the topic of elderly addiction was inevitably discussed.

Maryanne Frangules, executive director of the Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery, said opiate addiction among seniors is ‘”not something people really talk about. I get calls from people asking, ‘What do I do about my mother? What do I do about my father?’ It is very difficult when you know someone is in chronic pain and they are prescribed a medication and it alters their personality.‘”

Do you think more addiction education and enforcement should be in place for senior citizens?