It's almost a natural progression," said Sandra Knowles, a Provo psychiatric nurse practitioner who specializes in addiction.

When people do not have the education about the what could happen. How many drug classes are manditory on BYU campus to show what could happen to people and families by using Valiums to Morphine? Reality Check. Utah is Number ONE in presption drug use. NOTE when you start scratching and it feels goods . you are in trouble.

Teach that in school and it is like a eight sided sign. And if you do not know what that is please stay off the road and you need help. please get it

I agree that this is a very serious issue. The athletic programs of each school (if they don't already) should require all of their athletes to take some sort of educational course on prescription drug abuse/pain killer addiction. The coaching staff and training staff should be more cognizant of the pressure athletes are placed under to perform. Articles like this one help spread awareness that will hopefully lead to action. What I do not agree with is that issues like this will give certain people reasons to scream for BYU to shut down their football program. How ridiculous! Football isn't the only program BYU has that can have incidents that could cause negative publicity. No matter how hard you try, you can't avoid some people making poor choices. If someone from the marching band or some other school program somehow messes up publicly, will you call for BYU to cancel that program as well? Like I said, it's absolutely ridiculous. The publicity generated by the football program creates far more positives for the school than negatives, by far!

For all those who might needle my marching band example, realize it is just an example. Obviously the football program is a little more high vis than most other programs, but that's not the main issue. Taking away a school program because some people mess up and create bad publicity is the issue that I disagree with. You might as well take away people's ability to choose. The honor code isn't enough for some people apparently.

Thanks for all these articles...it has raised my own awareness. I see this as a potential problem for any athlete in any sport. As a mother of a daughter who wants to dance on pointe...this concerns me. I don't know who is too blame....but certainly prevention should be a priority for every athlete, athletic programs, attending physicians and parents. It is sad to see bright people with potential lose their futures and there lives. So sad! Thank for making us aware how vulnerable anyone can become to drug addiction.

I don't believe BYU is the only school out there with the problem, even though the reporter seemed to like using it as the only example. I also believe alot of the pressure comes from the coaches to rush these players back into the line-up before they are healed. But, the players themselves have to take responsibility for their addictions. They made the choice to continue taking them cause they wanted to play before they were ready. They cared more for the sport rather then their own health. I also feel that schools need to have a special class for these athletes about pain killer addiction so they can know the danger, and make it mandatory.

I am a nationally certified and state licensed athletic trainer who works at a local high school. This problem extends to the over-the-counter drugs as well. This year a football player passed out during a game. I discovered on the sideline that he had taken double the prescrition amount of ibuprofen before the game started. In some cases, this could be a lethal dose. This is only one of the many reasons I chose not to even carry ANY OTC or prescription meds at the high school. The risk is too high and the problem would only be compounded. I get asked by athletes, coaches, and even school staff if I carry any meds. Some get very aggrivated to learn that I don't. It's just not worth the risk, at all. Please parents, talk about the risk with your athletes, even if it is a minor thing like a sprained ankle. Also talk with your doctor to see what is appropriate before and after games/practices.

Until people stop looking for answers to their problems externally rather than taking the inward journey, you will always have some with dependency problems.

Why do we need them at all? The dangers far outweigh the benefits. Addiction or pain relief? Its silly.
How many times we hear people taking these things for mild aches and pains as well.
A bunch a wimps. Suck it up. No need to come home with prescribed pain medication ever!!!
We can endure pain without them. Non addictive forms can help and then the rest is up to you to deal with it. Since when was pain considered such a thing that we have to avoid at all costs.
I've had doctors look at me in shock when after back injuries, motorcycle accidents etc and I turn down their take home goody bag.
They dispense it too freely.
It doesn't matter who's to blame.
NO NEED FOR THEM AT ALL!!

I am a licensed substance abuse counselor, working for a treatment provider here in SLC. This is a hugh problem throughout the valley. Not just in the athletic arena. We are experencing a hugh rise in the painkiller abuse. Which leads directly to the use of heroin. I recently had a University of Utah student, who got hurt while riding a bike. He became addicted to pain killers and when "Doctor Shoping." He had 7 different doctors prescribe him pain killers. He went to a pharmacy and got 100 pills one day, went to a different pharmacy and used his middle name and got 90 more the next. These pills sell for up to $2,00 per mg on the street. When they run out of pills they can get heroin much cheeper and easier. This problem is becoming bigger than Methamphetamine in the SLC valley. It starts out incecently for most everyone, not just atheletes. The community, Doctors, Dentists, and legistslators need to be educated on how big a problem this is becoming. Lives are being ruined due to addiction to opiod pain killers.

my nephew played for byu in the 80's. He later was injured at geneva steel and became addicted to pain meds. We thought it would kill him but he finally overcame it a couple of years ago and looks healthy again. People don't realize how terrible these can be.

I was an athlete at BYU in 01-04. I got injured in the weight room and immediately was prescribed pain killers and muscle relaxants. My injury eventually required a couple surgeries. I got hooked on the drugs after a while. During my time there I learned of dozens of athletes addicted to these things. athletes always asking me for some. Not only pain killers but Ambien as well. This is a huge problem, not only at BYU. There never was a prevention course. Just the warning on the prescription saying 'this medication may be habbit forming if taken for a long period of time'. Yet I was prescribed them for quite a long period of time(6 months).
Anyway, there needs to be prevention as well as options for athletes who do become addicted.

These articles were interesting, but left a bad taste in my mouth. Way too much skewed towards BYU. Irresponsible reporting.

I think everyone has some blame in this issue. I think one of the hardest thing to understand in medicine is someones pain level and tolerance to pain. Everyone is different. So when you deal with people who have chronic pain, they take these pills to numb the pain, but also numb them from the reality they face everyday with confronting the pain they have.

I think the medical world should never prescribe narcotics over a long period of time without strict monitoring and also pyschological monitoring of the patient. Doctors do a really good job at treating the pain problem, but they fail to see the problem that is created from taking opiates over a long period of time. Addiction to these pills is horrible. They are hard to come off, especially if you are facing a chronic pain situation.

As a Human Resources executive for a large West Coast corporation, I see how much pain medication is prescribed and how often it is abused. I can tell you that prescription drug abuse is at an all-time high, while abuse of illicit drugs has declined. It is not just in athletics, but in every aspect in life. The difference is athletes may have more instances of injuries where pain-killers are prescribed and therefore more potential access. I think we as parents need to teach our kids, especially by example, that pain medication is addictive and to only use it sparingly. Hopefully athletic departments will also teach them the same.

There was a time when there was some irresponsibility on behalf of the program. In the mid-1980's The team doc would walk down the aisle of the airplane on the way home from an away game. As a freshman playing just special teams and not being injured, I was still offered pain pills. When i refused other older players got on my case--i was suppose to accept them and then give the pills to the players that wanted them. The whole medical and training staff was replaced, and I can't imagine they don't monitor it much more closely now.

I just wish that sports could be just that..sports! Why is it so important to win at all costs? Play for the fun and enjoyment of the games.
Playing when you should not is crazy.

Its good to see that the Deseret News ran this story, and it is good to see that BYU agreed to acknowledge that it has had problems. Undoubtedly this is a problem at EVERY college football program, and all teams should be monitoring the issue with a microscope.
Im quite sure that BYU, nor any other school, wants to contribute to, yet alone cause, addictions in their athletes -- even if it means losing a game. Further, Im sure the kids who have become addicted, would have never considered taking pills had they known the devastating consequences associated with this addiction.
My heart goes out to these kids, as well as their families, and I hope schools and society can educate and get these kids the help they need. Just like the article said, most of these kids who are addicted started b/c of a legitimate injury. Good luck to Atkinson, his family, and all others who battle or will battle this extremely addictive drug.

this problem happens everywhere. The article likes to emphasize the problem at BYU only because some people feel that as a church school there might be an element of hypocrisy. Personally I don't buy that. I am a practicing physician and see opiate addiction daily in my practice. It has gotten totally out of hand. People's lives become ruined by these. I feel for them and wish them well.
I don't think highlighting the problem at BYU is helpful. All college athletics deal with this issue.

Why do we need painkillers? You are kidding me right? What about the woman who has a hysterectomy or the soldier in Iraq who has his arm blown off? Or, more appropriately, what about the football player who snaps his leg and his bone is sticking out? Or, even on a smaller level, have you ever had a kidney stone?
The problem, of course, is that these individuals can become addicted -- but there is no way these pills should be completely banned. They serve a vital, medical function.

Our is a drug culture.
No religion, creed, race, or college is immune from it.

I agree to an extent with you. What you do have to understand, however, is that as an athlete there is so much pressure on you to be the best all the time. If you're injured, you're looked down upon as a waste of a scholarship and the likelyhood of you coming back and having the total respect of the coaches is not high. Athletes take pain medications because of the pressure. I'm not saying that's right, it's just true. You think I'm going to lose my scholarship because I can't fight through pain?

I had a brief wrestling career at Ricks. A month into practice I got kicked in the eye so forcefully that I thought I'd ruptured the globe of my eye. It make me look around. I saw cauliflower ears, crooked finger and noses, and scars from ortho surgeries on lots of knees and shoulders.

I quit the team. Fortunately, with low tuition I was able to afford school without a scholie. If I'd been in a high profile sport or saw a possible pro career, it would have been more difficult to stop.

As a chiropractor I see lots of bodies destroyed by sports, especially football. I also see a surprising number of pill seekers. Sometimes MD's send patients they suspect of drug seeking to me as a litmis test of the patient's true motives.

There is a flip side to this coin. People with chronic injuries and very real pain that truly benefit from narcotics.

There are no easy solutions, a national database of prescriptions filled would be a starting point for early intervention. Assigning patients with chronic pain to a single pain management specialist would also help.

Universities should consider providing lifetime rehab benefits to all former players.

This confirms that sports was never about a sportsmanship. Sports is about winning and money. Provo's crime rate would drop if BYU dropped football. City's Church's and schools all sell out worshiping the money sports brings in.

Next research the gambling addictions feed by betting on sports. I've seen "fans" go from five buck bets with friends to five hundred dollar bets through bookies.

I'm just blessed I was too astute to get involved with sports.

The huge problem of addiction isn't with extreme examples of war injuries and bones sticking out of the skin, its with any pain now a days. Get treatment at the hospital then don't have a prescription in hand to fill for continued pain. Non-addictive drugs and sucking it up will do.
These drugs are no different than illegal drugs like heroine. Yet a Dr. would lose his license if he did that. Hypocrisy!! Drug company is behind one and dirty dealer behind the other with the same results. Yet big Pharma isn't held responsible or the Doctors/Dentists (sheep) that dispense and don't resolve.

Dear Anonymous -- You are so far removed from reality that it is comical. Quick fix? What about those soldiers whose arms are blown off in Iraq and later become addicted? Or what of those cancer victims who need pain killers for treatment and later have a problem? Or, what about that football player who breaks his back and then becomes addicted and loses his life (Martin) when he had all the potential int he world? Is it a quick fix that should be regarded as "cheap grace?" You honestly need to rethink reality as well as simple human empathy.
To the other anonymous: PRovos crime rate would drop if BYU dropped football? No, crime rate would drop if kids stopped committing crimes, and the reasons they do so clearly unknown to you. P.S. -- Im sure your lack of involvement in sports was due to your lack of athletic ability, not putative crime rate.

BYU like many other football programs has learned about the ugly side of prescription drug abuse. Our family knew a wide receiver who played for BYU during the late 80's, who not only was abusing pain killers (due to a back injury) but also was taking steroids and having roid rage episodes. Hopefully, schools will learn from their mistakes and help players avoid the tragic stories that have been reported about with this series of articles.

I have to disagree with several posts above. I'm actually glad they did use BYU as the primary example. We should hold ourselves to the highest standards.

I am hopeful that the administration will be able to instill a new attitude and policy that will help these athletes.

I am glad the Deseret News is running this report. Also, thanks to BYU for acknowledging it. This is a huge problem and I am sure the U has issues with it as well as many other schools.

Also as an avid snowboarder, many boarders, especially young guys wanting to make a name for themselves, take Lortab because they jump, fall, get up and do it again. It's a huge problem and I can only hope parents take note. Please, it has to start with educating these young kids. Teach them what these drugs do.

Thank you D-news and Thank you BYU, this can help educate many people. Thanks again.

This is something that goes way beyond sports. It is a problem in our general society. The problem here is that pain is a "feeling" and is not seen. If a person has an obvious injury, such as a broken bone, or bleeding gash, it is certain that pain will be involved. But what if the person complains about pain long after surgery, and the normal time of recovery? Is the MD going to say: "No, you're not experiencing pain?" Pain is very easy to fake, in order to get drugs or disabilty money. How do you disprove someone who says they are having lower back pain, or headaches?

MDs, family, and friends all play important preventative roles in this, but it seems to me the main responsibilty here is with the individual, who fakes or exaggerates pain for drugs or money.

Ours is an externally-driven quick-fix society.
Quick-fixes such as drug use is nothing other than "cheap grace."

Anyone who thinks this is unique to BYU is just plain ignorant. I have been a football fan all of my life, as well as a player, and I know for a fact that this is very pervasive at all levels of football, from High School to the NFL. Does anyone remember Brett Favre's stint in rehab for this very thing? The death of Martin was a very sad and disturbing thing to read about. My heart goes out to his family. It is understandable and natural to look for blame in such a tragedy, but placing the blame solely at the feet of BYU coaches is irresponsible. Prescription drug abuse is a problem that, sadly, pervades all of society, not just sports. Society as a whole has largely overlooked it, with the focus being primarily on illegal drug abuse (cocaine, heroin, meth, etc). We are finally waking up to the fact that prescription drugs can be just as addictive and destructive. I hope that all athletic organizations, NOT JUST BYU, will become more aware of this problem and take steps to reduce the risk of athletes becoming ensnared, and identify and get treatment for those that already have been.

I've often wondered why it is that the State of Utah leads the nation in prescription drug abuse?
A cultural thing?

It seems to be human tendency to want to blame someone for the problems we face--it is far easier than accepting responsibility for our own actions. Addicts blame "society", bad relationships, their parents, spouse, friends, doctors, etc. for their addictions. Even if there is truth in their blame, the act of blaming someone else is counterproductive to addressing the problem and trying to move on. The question is not who to blame, but how to help those who become addicted.

Prescription drug addiction is not unique to athletes, BYU, Utah, or the US.

I find it interesting how many people take offense to BYU being used throughout the story. I find that Utah media stick to Utah sports and aren't that knowledgeable about the national sports scene. Nothing is funnier than watching a local sport broadcaster butcher an athletes name in highlights. At much larger programs this can be even more of a problem than I am sure it is at BYU.

I recently finished chemotherapy. I had a drawer full of prescription drugs, including Lortab, Ativan and Oxycotin. My prescription for Oxycotin was for 90 pills, to be renewed 3 times. I took one and felt that it affected my thinking. Since I am a physicist this was an undesired side effect. I flushed the other 89 pills down the toilet and shredded the prescription. I was able to handle the side effect of chemotherapy with an occasional Aleve. We are responsible for what we put in our body. It is so easy to research each medication. Just google the name. Really, before we blame someone else, we have to take personal responsibility. We pop them, no-one else does.

After a capsular shrinkage procedure on my shoulder (sports injury) I was given 2 weeks of Lortab to fight the pain. The surgeon said if I didn't keep on top of the pain with the meds I would never catch up. After three pills I saw what was happening to my mind. I couldn't think straight. I decided to fight the pain with a clear mind instead of blurring reality through drugs. This was my personal choice and I lived in Hell for a two weeks. The doctor kept asking if I needed more help with the pain and offered to keep writing prescriptions. After becoming a psychologist I continue to see addicted people seeking relief for the pain of ruined bodies. Part of our problem lies in the mentality of a silver bullet to end pain and also in the availability of prescription meds. Each addiction starts with an individual choice and is fostered by external pressures to perform. We can lessen the impact of addiction if counseling is given along with the painkillers and then their use is closely monitored.

The human body is a remarkable tool. It's self-healing powers are miraculous. But when it comes to psychotropics, it's just too easy for a physician to prescribe an upper or downer in today's confusing and horizonless world.
And easier yet for an undisciplined and impatient person to pop a pill and get stoned.

Pain serves a purpose!! Pain was meant to tell us (for the most part) to limit activity, to avoid what is causing the pain, and to get definitive treatment. For the far majority of pains (as Carl states) non-prescription medications will do just fine, with icing and rest. For more severe pain, prescription meds on a limited basis, until definitive treatment is obtained is the right course. RARELY (cancer, sickle cell, etc) are continuous narcotics a good choice.

Most of us need to return some basics of good health:
1. Exercise daily
2. Eat healthy
3. Maintain a healthy weight
4. Go to be early
5. Rest injuries

We tend to treat pain like we do fatigue--masking it with medications, or in the case of fatigue (from not doing #4 above) drink caffeine.

Before all you self-consious, persecution complex BYU fans get your thin skin bruised, you might want to notice the first article in the series was about an athlete from USU.

I am concerned with Tom Holmoe's statement that BYU has a system in place to identify those with prescription painkiller addictions. This system, he goes on to further define, is spearheaded by the ecclesiastical endorsement process and the BYU honor code. As a former BYU singles ward bishop who did hundreds of endorsements and had several male and female athletes in various sports in his ward, this is troubling to think that I was being relied on as the first line of defense. As far as I can remember, we never got any instruction from the administration to be on the lookout for potential abuse of this kind. With the relatively small number of kids coming to us with problems, the vast majority involved issues related to sexual immorality, drinking, and illegal drugs. Even in these cases, many would attempt to rationalize their behavior in some way. Misuse of prescription drugs which are otherwise legal is far too easy to minimalize in a student's mind, and I doubt many athletes would choose to bring it up in a confession. I think the athletic department needs to take more specific steps in this area. Random drug tests are only the beginning.

Part of this is an NCAA problem. The NCAA relies on the school to police themselves and there is no consistency from school to school.

I love the people that think that everything can be solved by living a healthy lifestyle. Maybe you should experience having cancer, major surgery, or other chronic pain conditions. Pain medicine allows people to have a somewhat normal life while they are in pain.

Doctors just need to be aware of how they are prescribing these drugs. They should check the pharmacy database to see if the person is getting drugs from someone else. But the worst thing a doctor can do is leave someone who is addicted to pain meds high and dry. Once they are addicted, they need to be helped even more. Just like some of these football players, once the supply is taken away, they turn to crime and illegal purchases. There needs to be an education process for doctors to show people who are addicted that they can get off of them

I was given tons of pain killers involving injuries from an accident. I doubt I took more than I third I was given, and I never asked for any. I did not like how they effected me. So I lived with the pain. I really don't know what could be done, other than allow your students to travel if injuried. These kids are risking their future, the least a school could do is let them go to the away games.

I was an adult probation officer in Texas for some twenty-five years. I saw an awesome amout of tragedy
in those years because of drugs. Judy (not her real name) had a car wreck while under the influence and killed her four year old child. Her left arm had to be amputated. She was sent to prison for practically
the rest of her life. Jack (not his real name) played professional football in the NFL for eight years. He had fame and fortune. When I knew him as his probation officer, he was broke, in bad health, lived in a shack, and had nothing but memories. Drugs took EVERYTHING from him. Significant people in an athletic's MUST watch and see the warning signs. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that something not right is going on. Being LDS does not make you exempt. AA/NA is an excellent source to go to for information on what to do to get help for the athletic OR non-athletic who is in the early stages of addiction. Stop it before it gets too advanced. The longer the wait, the greater the problem.

I was in the pharmaceutical industry for over a decade. Doctors love to be "heroes" and dispense a pill that makes the patient feel better. Then they can "bring them back in" to check the doseage and more money for an office visit. The docs with the most integrity understand how addictive uppers and downers can be. Limbaugh and Elvis had no trouble shopping around for their fix.

This is a hugh problem - nation wide. It saddens me to see the finger pointing because it's not a case of being able to pinpoint the problem. Who is to blame? Everyone is... the coaches, prescribing physicians, athletic staff, parents, fans and most importantly the athlete. The only person who can say how an athlete is feeling is the athlete. Sports has become a business. The expectations are that a team will put everything they have into winning. The pressure on the athlete to perform and to get back in the game is big. So they under report pain so they can play and in some cases they over report pain so they can get more medication. Addiction is a horrible thing and not an easy cycle to break.

Let me repeat myself here... no one person is to blame... we as a society are responsible and it is a growing problem everywhere (not just with athletes). Access to prescription pain medication needs to decrease and education about the dangers of these medications need to increase.

Ours is a drug culture spinning out of control.

For all you people writing under the name "Anonymous" I you can do better. If you can't or won't or are too embarassed to sign your real name at least think of some clever pseudononym.

If the physician isn't prescribing it, an athlete can always get it from a friend who has them from a previous surgery, or current injury. Unfortunately, there is always a way to get a hold of prescrip. drugs regardless of medical staff diligence.

Phil, I had the same experience with pain killers. After having my Achilles tendon reattached (full repture) and my wisdom teeth out (not at the same time, thankfully) I took only two pain killer tablets combined for the two. I can't say how others react to pain, but for me I just did not like the feeling I got after taking the pain killers.

I can understand that some people need them, but we must recognize that they have their risks. Pain management should be a program of doing all we can to relieve the pain naturally, supplemented by supervised medication. Not medication first, and more if that does not work. I hear of the quantity of medication people are able to obtain and it is disturbing. The doctors must do a better job of monitoring the pain treatment.