Pharmaceuticals: The Next Frontier in America’s War on Drugs by David Westbrook

Pharmaceuticals: The Next Frontier in America's War on Drugs

America's war on drugs, which has been fought in the opium

fields of Afghanistan and the cocaine plantations of

Columbia, will have to reinvent itself to combat what is set

to be America's biggest drug abuse problem, pharmaceuticals.

One in five American's, nearly 48 million, have used

prescription drugs for non-medical purposes at least once in

their lives. The current past month misuse rate among

Americans is 6.2 million. According to a recent white paper

by Carnevale Associates, this rate of use is already higher

than the historical highs of both cocaine and heroin

epidemics.

For some, the road to illicit use of prescription

medications starts innocently. After a car accident, back

injury, or, even, a mental/emotional breakdown a physician

prescribes medication for a legitimate use. Over time,

tolerance builds up so that more and more of the drug is

needed until a state of dependence is reached. At this

point, there is no easy way to get off the drug, and

stopping can involve painful withdrawal symptoms. Some

doctors have been known to become afraid and cut their

patients off at this point. Patients have been known to

steal prescription pads, or visit numerous doctors to get

the drugs they have become addicted to.

However, contrary to popular belief, it is not older adults

or any adults who are most likely to abuse pharmaceuticals.

In the past decade, abuse of prescription meds among youth

has been growing at an alarming first-time use rate of more

than fifty percent each year. In 2002, the latest year for

which there are statistics, approximately 2.5 million

American's misused prescriptions for the first time and 44%

of them were under the age of 18.

Unfortunately, as the media fixes its gaze on the

methamphetamine problem; and the Office of National Drug

Control Policy spends much of its time focusing on Marijuana

the opportunity to address the pharmaceutical addiction and

abuse is being missed. While certain steps have been taken

they have been tentative. The ONDCP has drawn up a strategy

for addressing synthetic drugs, but no serious media

campaign to educate Americans about the problem has been

undertaken. Nor has any pharmaceutical company been brought

to heel for manufacturing drugs with high abuse potential

even when alternatives may exist.

The next battle in America's war on drugs must draw a bead

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BIO:

Dave Westbrook has worked in the field of crisis intervention and addictions for several years. For more information on prescription med abuse and other
addiction related topics visit www.addictionsresources.com

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