DRUG ABUSE ON THE RISE FOR THOSE 50 AND UP

As baby boomers grow into their golden years, one hallmark of their
youth has stayed with them: drug use.

From 1992 to 2008, treatment of people 50 and older for heroin abuse
more than doubled in the United States.

Cocaine abuse among those 50 and older quadrupled, according to the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

"In all of the regions among those who are older, we see pretty
dramatic increases," said Kathleen Kane-Willis, a drug policy
researcher at Roosevelt University in Chicago.

Those older than 50 also are more frequently abusing more than one
drug. Multiple-substance abuse nearly tripled nationwide, up from 13.7
percent to nearly 40 percent in 2008, according to the SAMHSA study
released last month.

Alcohol, however, is declining as the primary drug for substance
abusers. In 1992, nearly 85 percent listed alcohol as their primary
drug. In 2008, it was a little less than 60 percent.

The impact goes beyond the abusers and their families. It's also
costing American taxpayers millions of dollars.

A 2009 study measured the impact of substance abuse on Medicaid costs.
Researchers found that together, the six states studied paid almost
$210 million to care for behavioral-issue patients who also had
substance-abuse problems.

Robin Clark, lead author of the study and an associate professor at
the University of Massachusetts Medical School, attributes the high
costs to an aging population, an expansion of Medicaid coverage under
President Barack Obama's health reform, and the rising rate of
substance abuse among older people.

John Herrera, 57, worked at a mill that sat on a large landfill near
Lake Michigan for 37 years before retiring two years ago.

He and his co-workers drank alcohol, smoked pot and dabbled in cocaine
and LSD.

A car wreck in 1993 injured Herrera's back. It also led to another
addiction that is becoming more common among his baby boom peers,
according to the SAMHSA study: prescription drugs.

First it was painkillers, then Xanax, which is used to treat anxiety
and panic disorder.

For the past year, Herrera has been in treatment at the Fairbanks
Alcohol and Drug Treatment Center in Indianapolis. He's been clean for
a little more than a year.

His struggle as an older person isn't unique, he said.

"We've got 70-year-olds coming in for the first time," Herrera said.
"It's not surprising that they're still doing it. Everyone thinks it's
all the young ones."

Kim Manlove, project director of a five-year federal grant awarded to
Indiana to create an epidemiological profile of the state's drug
users, has seen how prescription drug abuse has crept up on baby boomers.

"A good part of what's happening is the number of folks who may have
had substance abuse at a younger age but seemed to get by it, then
experienced some sort of injury," he said.

Some opiate addicts seek treatment in one of the state's 13 methadone
clinics. Methadone is used to wean patients off opiates, which include
prescription drugs and illicit drugs such as heroin.

About 150 of the 1,200 patients who come to the Fairbanks methadone
clinic each year are 50 or older.

"It gets worse over time," said Robert McCarthy, the center's
director. "A lot of these folks started using these drugs in the '60s.
You can't bounce back as well."