NEW ORLEANS - The U.S. drug czar got input from young people Tuesday at Covenant House, as he prepares to advise President Obama on a national drug control policy.
392350He also met with drug enforcement agents who are on the front lines of fighting the explosion in illegal prescription drug use.
The U.S. drug czar, Gil Kerlikowsk, explained to a group of young people that there is a misconception that marijuana is no big deal. One young man asked why it wasn't legal, saying he's wasn't talking about drugs, just "weed." ?
"If you think about who calls for help to a hotline, a drug hotline, more than anyone else it's people who use marijuana ahead of every other drug," said Kerlikowsk, the director of the?National Drug Control Policy.
He said pot is dangerous and causes many health and crime problems.?And there is another growing concern.
"DEA has made the prescription drug issue one of their very highest priorities.?40 states have passed prescription drug monitoring laws to be able to find out about doctors who are not prescribing within the law, but also to be able to look at patients who are doctor shopping," said Kerlikowsk.
Earlier the drug czar stopped by a seminar in Metairie. It was?a gathering of DEA agents, law enforcement officials,?doctors, lawyers and prosecutors from a four state area who are?hoping to learn from an internationally recognized expert in pharmacology about how to better fight the explosion in the illegal use of prescription drugs.
"Addiction is a disease and it's a disease that once you have the disease, it is a life-long disease. There is no cure for it. You may be drug free for a lifetime, but it is a disease process," said?Dr. Hal L. Crossley, professor emeritus at the?University of Maryland Dental School.
Here are some DEA figures:
- 25 percent of teens admit to trying pharmaceuticals.
- $62.5 billion?is associated with the misuse of prescription drugs.
- 7 million people in the U.S. acknowledge using prescriptions illegally.
- 25 percent of drug overdoses are associated with misuse of pharmaceuticals.
- And most staggering, 90 percent of all Hydrocodone, a narcotic pain killer, is consumed just by people in the United States.
The DEA special agent in charge said it's a grave concern that teens think because it's a prescription, it is safe.
"The drug of choice now for teenagers is pharmaceutical substances, and of course, as you very well know, often times the source is right there in the medicine cabinet," said Jimmy S. Fox, III the SAC of the DEA in New Orleans.
And since the profit margin is extremely high on a pain pill compared to a street drug, such as cocaine, dealers are taking advantage of the high demand.
So is the criminal activity secondary to the illness of the brain?
"Yes, that's right, that's a good way of putting it,"?said Dr.?Crossley.
DEA?agents also believe that violence will increase, as the sale of prescription drugs, grows on the streets.
