WASHINGTON- Senator Chuck Grassley today raised concerns over the continued rise in prescription drug use following the release of 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The survey shows that while illicit drug use continues to decline, prescription drug abuse is on the rise.
“It’s good to see survey results showing a continued decline in illicit drug use, but this is just one battle in the war on drugs. Lawmakers, families and communities must press forward on all fronts to keep drugs out of the hands of our children, especially given the rise in prescription drug abuse,” Grassley said. “We must act with a sense of urgency to warn children and parents of the potentially lethal consequences of abusing prescription drugs.”
The 2007 survey shows that drug abuse among Americans, age 12 and over, has either remained steady or declined slightly between 2006 and 2007. However, prescription drug abuse has risen between 2006 and 2007. This has been a consistent trend since 2002. Click here to view a full copy of the survey.
Grassley currently serves as the co-chairman of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics. He has long been a leader in the fight against illegal drugs and substance abuse. Alarmed by the rising abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs across the country, Grassley and Senator Joe Biden of
Delaware worked to pass several Senate resolutions and wrote opinion pieces to raise awareness and educate parents, teens, and communities about the serious dangers that medicine abuse and illegal drugs pose. Grassley and Biden targeted the rising trend of prescription and over-the-counter medicine abuse in a hearing held on March 12, 2008, titled “Generation Rx: The Abuse of Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drugs.” Grassley has also addressed the issue in a prescription drug town hall meeting in Clinton earlier this year.
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