PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE:

THE NATIONAL POLICY PERSPECTIVE

Michael Gottlieb, National HIDTA DirectorOffice of National Drug Control Policy

May 7, 2014Bay Area Prescription Drug Abuse Summit

San Francisco, California

Office of National Drug Control Policy

• Component of the Executive Office of the President

• Coordinates drug control activities and related funding across the Federal Government

• Produces the annual National Drug Control Strategy

National Drug Control Strategy

• The President’s science-based plan to reform drug policy:1)Prevent drug use before it ever begins

through education2)Expand access to treatment for

Americans struggling with addiction3)Reform our criminal justice system4)Support Americans in recovery

• Coordinated Federal effort on 112 action items

• Signature initiatives:– Prescription Drug Abuse– Prevention– Drugged Driving

State Overdose Death Rates, 2010

10.9

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of Death 2000-2010 on CDC WONDER Online Database. Extracted October, 2012.

— U.S. National Rate: 12.3 per 100,000 —

• Coordinated effort across the Federal government

• Four focus areas:

1) Education2) Prescription Drug

Monitoring Programs

3) Proper Medication Disposal

4) Enforcement

Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Plan

• There are signs that efforts to reduce and prevent prescription drug abuse are working.

• The number of Americans 12 and older initiating the nonmedical use of prescription opioids in the past year has decreased significantly since 2009, from 2.2 million in that year to 1.9 million in 2012. 1

• The rate of past year use among high school seniors of OxyContin or Vicodin in 2013 is its lowest since 2002.2

• Long term success will come from coordination and collaboration at the Federal, state, local, and tribal levels.

Progress

1. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Results from the 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Detailed Tables. Department of Health and Human Services. [September 2013]. Available: http://www.samhsa.gov/data/NSDUH/2012SummNatFindDetTables/DetTabs/NSDUH-DetTabsSect7peTabs1to45-2012.htm#Tab7.36A2. The Monitoring the Future study. Narcotics other than Heroin: Trends in Annual Use and Availability – Grades 8, 10, and 12. University of Michigan. [December 2013]. Available: http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/data/13data/13drfig8.pdf

For More Information

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