Baker Institute Viewpoints: Prescriptions Drug Abuse

Baker Institute Viewpoints: Prescriptions Drug Abuse – Dec. 05, 2012 Baker Institute Viewpoints is a regular series on the Baker Institute Blog that presents an array of views on a single issue. The drugs of choice for an increasing number of Americans are prescription painkillers. Nowhere is the problem more apparent than Houston, where the renowned medical center area has become “a national hotspot for prescription drug abuse,” according to a recent story in the Houston Chronicle. As policymakers grapple with how to address this growing problem — including a quiet reassessment of US policies that focus on keeping illegal drugs out of the country — drug policy experts at the Baker Institute ask: What does rising prescription drug abuse mean for the “war on drugs”? Read the posts in this series: “What does rising prescription drug abuse mean for the war on drugs?” — bit.ly Gary Hale, nonresident fellow in drug policy. “Treating addiction as a public health issue, not a crime” — bit.ly Tony Payan, visiting Baker Institute Scholar for Immigration and Border Studies. “US pill abuse may not make cartels completely irrelevant” — bit.ly Nathan Jones, Alfred C. Glassell III Postdoctoral Fellow in Drug Policy.

From Twitter:

February 28th – Heroin and prescription drug abuse are two sides of a see saw. Find out what communities are… http://t.co/f1I21x8AJ1 – by CCSAP (CCSAP – NC)

From Twitter:

Rise In Deadly Military Prescription Drug Abuse: A look at the reason why prescription abuse has been increasi… http://t.co/q3rJBPMquF – by weight_loss1550 (Weight Loss)

From Twitter:

West Virginia roundtable discussion focuses on prescription drug abuse w/ @ONDCP Dir. Kerlikowske & @SenRockefeller http://t.co/ixXVhwkbZo – by HarmReduction (HRC)