I stumbled across this while reading Gawker: “Teen socialite” Peaches Geldof says the staff at the fashion magazine Nylon prefer prescription drugs over illegal drugs –

What’s the drug of choice at Nylon? “Klonopin.” Peaches was definitely the talky one. Why? “It’s just a very large prescription drug culture.”…

This confirms our highly anecdotal evidence of Klonopin as a mini-trend for the creative underclass, maybe better than Xanax—not that our shrink is offering to prescribe us any despite repeated inquiries.

Klonopin, classified as a “sedative-hypnotic,” is prescribed for epilepsy, panic and anxiety disorders, restless legs syndrome and other medical conditions. Unfortunately, such drugs are too easily obtained by young people, who often start taking them by raiding their parents’ medicine cabinets.

As Ritch Wagner of Purdue Pharma (OxyContin), who educates medical professionals and law enforcement officials about the dangers of prescription drug abuse, describes the growing problem:

More prescription drugs are creeping up the list of the 20 most widely abused substances, Wagner said, including the painkiller hydrocodone and methadone, a narcotic commonly used to treat heroin addiction that is now used to treat pain.

Abusers are beginning to learn it can “be more advantageous” to use prescription drugs to get high than drugs such as meth, cocaine and heroin. They are easier to obtain, and people think they are safe because doctors prescribe them.

“In my day and age, it was how many of Dad’s beers we can sneak out of the fridge,” Wagner said. “Now, it’s how many pills can I get out of the medicine cabinet.”

Wagner said children are taking whatever pills they can get their hands on, throwing them into a bowl and taking a handful. They’re called punch-bowl or grab-bag parties.

I think what really struck me about these stories was Geldof’s use of the term “prescription drug culture.” I hadn’t heard the term before.

My immediate reaction was to compare it to the “drug culture” of the ’60s and early ’70s, which we relate to young people — specifically, “hippies.” But upon reflection, the “prescription drug culture” isn’t confined to the young in our country today. It’s pervasive.

It starts with the billions of dollars in advertising that pharmaceutical companies spend to get us to stock our medicine cabinets with drugs — drugs that we might or might not really need.

Before the recent advertising campaign, for example, I’m guessing you’d never even heard of restless legs syndrome — let alone gone to the doctor and asked for Klonopin or Mirapex. The medical use of drugs like Xanax and Prozac have gone through the roof among adults of all ages. And don’t you suspect the Viva Viagra! advertising campaign has made Viagra an object of curiosity not only among middle-aged men, but among teenage boys?

When a teenager’s parents, as well as all of his or her friends’ parents, are stocking the medicine cabinet with these drugs, don’t you think what happens next is almost inevitable?

So, how do we solve the problem? Frankly, as I’ve stated here before, I would put an end to direct-to-consumer advertising by pharmaceutical companies.

Others may disagree with this approach, and that’s fine. But however we get there, we need to reach a point where we don’t expect a “pill for every ill.” Because if you believe there’s a pill for every ill, it’s a short step to believe that prescription drugs are the answer for everything — including having a good time at a party.

Whether the individual doctors did anything wrong, however, patients can get in trouble when they go to multiple doctors — which is increasingly the case in today’s world.

That’s why it is important to take the safety of your drug regimen in your own hands through a sophisticated tool like PharmaSurveyor (now in beta) or some of the other drug-interaction tools currently on line, like this one at DoubleCheckMD .

We’re not sure about Rush, but apparently the hillibillies have moved on — to hydrocodone. According to the AP:

As OxyContin came under scrutiny, doctors were more careful about how they prescribed it. Many switched to hydrocodone products, which were already popular but didn’t have the same stigma.

All 50 states saw increases in the distribution of hydrocodone between 2001 and 2005. But the trend was particularly significant in the South, where all of the top 10 states in terms of increased distribution are located, the DEA says. Four of the top five — Tennessee, West Virginia, Kentucky and Alabama — include parts of Appalachia.

Authorities say hydrocodone is so popular in this region partly because it’s easy to acquire. Street drugs like heroin are harder to come by in sparsely populated rural areas. Prescription painkillers can be found at every pharmacy and pain clinic, as well as ordered over the Internet.

“When I started in this field, the primary client was involved with alcohol,” says David Bailey, a community resource specialist with the West Virginia Prevention Resource Center. “I wish it were still alcohol. Not that that’s not a very dangerous drug, but the addiction (to painkillers) seems to be much more intense, much more severe within a shorter period of time.”

A drug company gave rewards Friday to three Virginia residents who assisted in apprehending a Waynesboro, Pa., man charged in a May 2 robbery and carjacking in Williamsport.

Rx Patrol, which is financed by OxyContin maker Purdue Pharmaceutical Co., gave $3,750 in rewards, Washington County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Roy Harsh said. OxyContin and other prescription medications were taken during the robbery. Jamie Shifflett of Strasburg, Va., who received a $2,500 reward, works at the front desk of the Strasburg Ramada Inn, where Jamie Parker Barnes was arrested May 19…

Barnes, 41, was charged with armed robbery, robbery and other crimes in connection with the May 2 incident at Williamsport Pharmacy at 31 N. Conococheague St. He was captured in Virginia after a two-week search through several states…

The Shiffletts plan to use their reward money to pay bills and buy new school clothes for their children, Jamie Shifflett said.

Here’s the Rx Patrol Web site. Insert Rush Limbaugh joke here.

We strongly favor this proposed legislation and, though we are a bit cynical about its prospects, we thought we would detail its provisions and why the law would be a good thing for consumers and for public safety.

Specifically, the legislation would serve to:

(1) provide criminal penalties for those who unlawfully dispense controlled substances over the Internet;

(2) give state attorneys general a civil cause of action against anyone who violates the act if they have reason to believe that the violation affects the interests of their state’s residents; and

(3) allow the federal government to take possession of any tangible or intangible property used illegally by online pharmacies.

The hope is that this legislation would deter rogue pharmacies that do not require prescriptions or physician consultations to distribute controlled substances such as Hydrocodone, Valium, Xanax, OxyContin, and Vicodin.

The act refers to a 2006 study that states, “a staggering 89 percent of sites selling controlled prescription drugs have no prescription requirements. According to the study, 15.1 million adults admitted to abusing prescription drugs, including 2.3 million abusers between the ages of 12 and 17. Currently, there is no way to police this illegal activity.”

Earlier this month, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University issued a study that revealed the following:

For three years straight the number of rogue Web sites selling controlled prescription drugs like OxyContin, Vicodin, Valium, and Ritalin has increased, according to a new White Paper released by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.

The White Paper, “You’ve Got Drugs!” IV: Prescription Drug Pushers on the Internet, to be released today at the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on “Rogue Online Pharmacies: The Growing Problem of Internet Drug Trafficking,” found a total of 581 Web sites advertising or selling controlled prescription drugs in 2007 compared to 342 sites in 2006. Sites advertising controlled prescription drugs increased by 135 percent, from 168 in 2006 to 394 in 2007. Sites selling these drugs increased by seven percent from 174 in 2006 to 187 in 2007. Of the 187 sites found selling controlled prescription drugs this year, only two were certified by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy as Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites.

Passage of the act should be a no-brainer and would do nothing but benefit consumers. As Feinstein and Sessions make clear:

The bill introduced today is designed to stop Internet pharmacies that sell controlled substances without a valid prescription, not pharmacies that sell drugs at a low cost to individuals who have a valid prescription from their U.S. doctors.

Unfortunately, chain pharmacies are opposing the legislation because they fear it will lead to greater federal regulation of pharmacies, which have traditionally been regulated by the states. And, as we’ve stated repeatedly here, Big Pharma and its political flunkies actually benefit from a fearful public when it comes to online pharmacies, so anything that makes online pharmacies safer actually works against Big Pharma’s financial interests.

Whether or not this bill becomes law, however, consumers do have a safe choice now: pharmacies in the eDrugSearch.com database. All must meet regulations and requirements that far exceed those in Feinstein and Sessions’ proposed legislation.

In general, the eDrugSearch Blog’s advice to U.S. healthcare consumers is that if you wait for the federal government to solve your problems, you may be waiting a very long time. We’re afraid the Feinstein-Sessions proposal may be the latest illustration of this.