Critics hit Army's treatment of drug abuse

Critics hit Army's treatment of drug abuse
Seattle Post Intelligencer - USA
By ALAN SCHER ZAGIER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. -- Spec. Jeremiah Thomson didn't know what was worse: excruciating back pain from a combat explosion in Baghdad or the prescription drug addiction he developed trying to ease the suffering once home.

The Army was quick to prescribe Percocet, Vicodin, Oxycontin and similarly powerful painkillers to Thomson and other injured soldiers at Fort Leonard Wood, Thomson testified in a court-martial hearing. He's now serving a three-year sentence for illegally buying prescription drugs - the sellers included a former commanding officer in Iraq - and selling the pills to eight other soldiers.

As more troops return home with war injuries, the Army is prescribing more pain medication to treat those wounds. But a military system that relies on discipline as well as treatment is drawing fire from some prominent critics, including those inside the system.

"It's a terrible problem," said Barbara McDonald, a civilian social worker and Army drug abuse counselor, describing a recent surge in prescription drug abuse and the Army's handling of the problem.

Legal painkiller use by injured troops has increased nearly 70 percent since the start of the Iraq war six years ago, according to Army records. Surveys show that more soldiers are struggling with prescription drug addiction - and seeking help from Army doctors and counselors.
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