A national alliance of families, the pharmaceutical industry, patients, consumer groups, and drug abuse prevention advocates released a national strategy proposal to counter the continued rise in prescription drug abuse.

“Rising rates of prescription drug abuse are the result of a combination of factors and can only be countered successfully by a coordinated, multi-sector strategy,” said Michael Barnes, executive director of CLAAD, the Center for Lawful Access and Abuse Deterrence.

 CLAAD’s National Prescription Drug Abuse Strategy, co-written with the Human Resources Development Institute, advocates a balanced public policy approach.
Recent reports note that prescription drug abuse surpasses the public abuse of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines, coming in “second” only to marijuana. Controlling the abuse of prescription medications is complicated by the need to keep such medications available for lawful use by patients and prescribes.

“Prescription medications are tragically under-prescribed for certain segments of society,” said Andrea Barthwell, M.D., chief executive officer of HRDI, the Human Resources Development Institute, one of the nation’s leading African American behavior health and human services organizations. “Women and minorities are dramatically less likely to receive prescription pain relievers than white men.”

The 2009 National Prescription Drug Abuse Strategy is available online.
Website: http://www.claad.org