US Government Awards $6.2 Million for Prescription Drug Abuse Monitoring

A PRWEB news release dated September 30, 2005 announced that the U.S. Department of Justice released awards totaling $6.2 million to help states fight prescription drug abuse. The article noted that prescription drug abuse has rapidly grown into a national epidemic and is now one of America's fastest rising categories of substance abuse.

Studies show that states with prescription monitoring programs have lower incidences of inappropriate prescriptions. They note that prescription drug monitoring programs help prevent drug-seeking patients from "doctor shopping," which is going from doctor to doctor in order to obtain several prescriptions.

Gary W. Smith, Executive Director of Narconon Arrowhead, one of the nation's largest and most successful drug rehabilitation programs, stated, "What many people forget is that prescription drugs have the potential to be just as harmful as street drugs, and that most of today's illegal drugs were once marketed and sold as pharmaceuticals."

According to the US Office of National Drug Control Policy, "Programs and efforts that do not reduce drug use must be restructured or eliminated, an effort to use taxpayer money wisely that this Administration takes seriously."

Regina B. Schofield, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs stated, "These awards will fund monitoring programs, which are efficient tools for early detection and reduction of prescription drug abuse while offering quick access to information about drugs most likely to be abused."