More Americans were abusing controlled prescription drugs than cocaine, inhalants, heroin, and hallucinogens as a combination between years 1992-2003 as per a recently released report.
Joseph Califano, chairman and founder of the center and a former health secretary, remarked that the country is in the middle of an epidemic of controlled prescription drug abuse and addiction.
It was further remarked by Califano that the abuse of prescription opioids among teenagers has risen by as much as 542 percent and the explosion in prescription has brought a greater temptation and threat than the illegal street drug dealer.
It is sad to note that controlled drugs were implicated in approximately 30 percent of drug-related emergency room deaths in the year 2002 alone. Law enforcement officials around the country have been staging a lone battle against prescription drug abuse, especially against pain killers.