By Crystal D. Swann
April 25, 2011

White House Director of National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlikowske released on April 19 the Administration's action plan to address the spiraling crisis of prescription drug abuse in the United States. The plan, "Epidemic: Responding to America's Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis," expands upon the Administration's "National Drug Control Strategy" and includes action in four major areas to reduce prescription drug abuse: education, monitoring, proper disposal and enforcement.

"The plan calls for reducing prescription drug diversion and abuse by supporting the expansion of state-based prescription drug monitoring programs, recommending more convenient and environmentally responsible disposal methods to remove unused medications from the home, supporting education for patients and healthcare providers, and reducing the prevalence of pill mills and doctor shopping through enforcement efforts," states the plan. The plan is the result of a six-month federal collaboration that included the Departments of Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Defense as well as the Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Studies show that prescription drug abuse is the nation's fastest-growing drug problem and young people are leading the way with prescription drugs (particularly opioids) ranking second behind marijuana as the drugs of choice. Additionally, the report states, "the number of people who have unintentionally overdosed on prescription drugs now exceeds the number who overdosed during the crack cocaine epidemic in the 1980s and the black tar heroin epidemic of the 1970s combined," according to the report.

The actions steps and recommendations includes:

• working with Congress to amend the federal law to require practitioners such as physicians who request DEA registration to prescribe controlled substances to be trained on responsible opioid prescribing practices as a precondition of registration;

• providing guidance to the pharmaceutical industry on the development of abuse-deterrent drug formulations; and

• working with stakeholders to create an evidence-based media campaign on prescription drug abuse, targeted to parents regarding the risks and to education them about the proper disposal of unused prescription drugs.

To read the report online, go to the website http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/pdf/rx_abuse_plan.pdf

The United States Conference of Mayors is entering the third year of the Mayors Campaign Against Prescription Drug Abuse, a partnership with Purdue Pharma Pharmaceuticals. The campaign is a comprehensive education initiative that provides mayors with an online toolkit (www.usmayors.org/drugawareness) and empowers mayors to take a lead in educating their citizens through the use of public services announcements. This year, at the Conference of Mayors 79th Annual Meeting in Baltimore, mayors are invited to record video PSAs for use in their cities to raise awareness about prescription drug abuse epidemic.