One of the large problems facing much of the country right now is prescription drug abuse. Whether obtained through the doctor or not, the excess use of prescribed medication has become an epidemic throughout the entirety of America. This is true no matter where you go, and it is a sad fact that many people are unable or unwilling to seek help for the addiction which has gripped so many. Whether someone had been prescribed medication for an injury or if they found it another way, the truth is that the addiction can harm many and regrettably has taken the lives of many.

This is true of those who have been harmed while on the job as well. Many people who have been hurt while at work are prescribed medication to help deal with the pain of their injuries and may become dependent upon the drugs. While naturally everything is done to prevent this from occurring, sometimes people end up falling to addiction no matter what precautions are taken. Addiction is not a weakness, but rather something that anyone may become a victim of. Unfortunately, secondary mental health issues are often not covered under the treatment of workers’ compensation claims. This means that most people who become addicted to prescription pain medications due to their worker’s compensation injury are often left without many if any, options.

This is why, on April 6th, 2017, the North Carolina Industrial Commission held its first meeting of the opioid task force. This was held in Raleigh and was meant to cover possible solutions to the rising problem of drug abuse in regards to workers’ compensation claims. Due to the fact that this is a brand new force, there has been very little progress within the past month. However, we are extremely excited about this new work into helping to keep all of our workers safe. We know that drug addiction is a horrible situation for anyone to find themselves in and will happily report all that we can about any new progress that is made by North Carolina’s new opioid task force. Until then, be sure to use all resources available to you and be sure to get help if you think it is needed.