News From the Cause
MILITARY: Abuse of pain meds by vets skyrockets (North County Times)
December 06, 2010
Post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury remain the most common combat maladies arising from service in Afghanistan and Iraq. But abuse of prescribed drugs, particularly pain medications, is on the rise, and its effects are being felt in San Diego County. Phil Landis, chief executive officer of Veterans Village of San Diego, has witnessed a six-fold increase in young, homeless veterans in the last two years, and many of them are struggling with addiction to prescription medications.
"Almost 10 percent of our vets here are post-9/11. By the time they get to us, they have fallen through about every other support net," Landis said. "The younger veterans we're seeing have really fallen hard and they've fallen fast. Many of them are addicted to prescribed drugs. We don't see that much among our other veterans here."
Landis said the connection between drug abuse and homelessness is well known from the experience of Vietnam vets. But what is critically different now is the speed with which today's veterans are plunging into homelessness. A downward cycle that used to take eight to 10 years to land a veteran on the streets is now down, in some cases, to less than a year.click here to view
