Pubdate: Mon,  1 Mar 2004
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2004 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author:  Jennifer C. Kerr, Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/campaign.htm (ONDCP Media Campaign)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?214 (Drug Policy Alliance)

BUSH DRUG POLICY TO FOCUS ON PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS

WASHINGTON - President Bush's national anti-drug strategy, released
today, for the first time targets the use of pain relievers, sedatives
and stimulants for nonmedical purposes, a problem that has exploded in
the last decade.

A key part of the new strategy involves government efforts to help
states develop monitoring systems to track a patient's use of
prescription medicine. The monitoring programs flag cases that
indicate a pattern of abuse, such as "doctor shopping," where a
patient gets prescriptions for drugs from multiple physicians.

Prescription medicine now ranks second, behind marijuana, among drugs
most abused by adults and young people, said the report by the White
House's Office of National Drug Control Policy. It cited a recent
study by the Health and Human Services Department.

Twenty states have prescription monitoring programs, the report said.
John Walters, director of the drug policy office, said he expects to
expand the program to 11 more states by next year. About $10 million
in federal funds will bankroll the expansion.

With painkillers such as OxyContin and Vicodin widely available on the
Internet, "pill mills" or rogue online pharmacies will come under
increased scrutiny.

The Drug Enforcement Administration plans to aggressively pursue
pharmacies selling controlled substances illegally over the Internet,
an effort that will include deploying modern Web crawler technology to
search out those peddling prescription drugs online.

Physician training and education programs will also be a part of the
new campaign.

The Drug Policy Alliance, a New York-based group that promotes
alternatives including the legalization of marijuana for medical
purposes, was skeptical of Bush's strategy. It saw unintended
consequences that will end up causing more pain and suffering.

"The principal impact of this campaign when you step up the law
enforcement response is that doctors will err on the side of
under-treating pain," said alliance Executive Director Ethan
Nadelmann. "So any time a doctor is dealing with a patient in pain,
their first instinct is not to prescribe enough." Since 1995,
emergency room visits from prescription drug abuse have risen 163
percent, the report said.

To highlight the problem among youth, it noted a University of
Michigan study that found abuse by high school seniors of Vicodin more
than double the use of cocaine, Ecstasy or methamphetamine.

One in 10 seniors, it said, reported nonmedical use of the
painkiller.

Mark Surks of Kendall Park, N.J., who lost his son, Jason, a few
months ago to a drug overdose, said he had no idea the 19-year-old was
buying OxyContin and the anti-anxiety drug Xanax on the Internet

"I was blindsided," Surks said. "There was no evidence that my son had
ever been using any kind of drugs. He was a good kid. He was involved
in the religious community, in sports and in music. He had tons of
friends. It never crossed my mind that prescription drugs were a
problem." Surks praised the new focus by the White House on
prescription drugs.

Bush outlined other facets of his anti-drug strategy during his State
of the Union address in January. They include additional financing for
drug-prevention efforts and a sharp increase in funds for schools that
want to use drug testing to expand early intervention programs.

His proposal to boost funding from $2 million to $23 million for
student drug testing has come under fire from some parents, school
administrators and civil liberties groups concerned about privacy
violations and the effectiveness of the testing.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin