Prescription Drug Orphans

Prescription drug abuse by all accounts is an epidemic of outrageous proportions. The problem is affecting families across America, but, the Midwest has been hit especially hard for a number of reasons. Poverty and lack of education regarding the dangers of prescription narcotics plays a huge role in the devastation seen in the Midwest. New research has shown that in Kentucky it's the children that are affected the most by this epidemic.

There are more than 86,000 children in Kentucky being raised by someone other than a biological parent. Community leaders claim that this sad statistic is due to prescription drug abuse and the high rate of overdoses that accompany such usage.

New data has shown Kentucky to be the fourth most medicated state in the country and has the sixth highest rate of overdose deaths, CNN reports. However, it is difficult to assess how many children are orphaned after a prescription drug overdose death by a parent.

"Someone has to take care of these kids, and we simply do not have the facilities to do that," said U.S. Representative Hal Rogers, whose district in Kentucky is hard hit by prescription drug abuse. "So it's neighbors, it's churches, other civic groups that are trying to be parents to these kids who are orphaned by drug-abusing parents. That's a huge undertaking, because there's literally tens of thousands of these young children."

This holiday season let's remember all the children and work to keep them safe. 

Related articles

• 'Orphans' of prescription drugs (cnn.com)