Congressional Hearing Highlights Need for More Rx and OTC Drug Abuse Prevention

After finding two empty bottles of Robitussin in the basement of her home, where her son Carl held a sleepover with friends, Misty Fetko, a registered nurse from Ohio, knew something was wrong when she saw another empty bottle in Carl´s car one morning in July 2003. She rushed to her son´s bedroom, only to find him lying in bed, dead. Fetko was among several witnesses who testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs on Wednesday to draw attention to the urgent need to address prescription and over-the-counter medicine abuse.

Research indicates that one in 10 teenagers—or about 2.4 million young people—report having abused cough medicine to get high. In addition, seven of the top 11 drugs most commonly abused by high school seniors are prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, reflecting a disturbing national trend. During the hearing, Fetko said she had always tried to keep drugs out of her home, but didn’t realize she had to be concerned about cough medicine.

“It wasn’t until after talking with his friends and finding journal entries on his computer did I discover that Carl had been abusing cough medicine intermittently over the past two and a half years,” she told the panel. “The signs at the time did not indicate to me signs of drug abuse: there were no needles, powders, smells, large amounts of money being spent, or other signs that are typically associated with drug abuse.”

Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime & Drugs and Caucus on International Narcotics Control, said part of the challenge with OTC and prescription medicines is that most parents aren’t aware that kids can abuse these commonly-used medicines and many perceive that it’s safe. “We’ve got to fundamentally change the attitudes of parents and teens when it comes to abusing medicines. There is a grave misperception that just because these drugs are legal when properly prescribed and monitored, they are always safe—in any dose. That is simply not true,” Sen. Biden said.

Also among the witnesses was CADCA member Derek Clark, Director of the Clinton Substance Abuse Council in Clinton, Iowa, who testified about his coalition’s efforts to prevent prescription and OTC medicine abuse. Clark noted that 15 percent of Clinton, Iowa 11th graders have abused prescription drugs and 11 percent have abused OTC medicines.

Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), pointed to the need to better train doctors to screen patients for addiction before prescribing prescription opioid pain medications, which account for most of the reported prescription drug abuse. “In the medical system, there is very little medical education about this,” she said. Dr. Volkow cited the example of nicotine. “If you have had a past history of nicotine dependence, you have a higher risk of becoming dependent on prescription drugs and doctors are not asking the question,” she noted.

As a result, Dr. Volkow said NIDA launched the Centers for Excellence for Physician Information, which educates medical students and resident physicians in primary care specialties about addiction and prescription drug abuse screening.

The hearing also featured Dr. Len Paulozzi, medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Steve Pasierb, President and CEO of The Partnership for a Drug-Free America.

Sen. Biden also urged his colleagues to support the Dextromethorphan Abuse Reduction Act (S. 2274), which he introduced in October 2007. This legislation aims to curb the alarming rise in medicine abuse, including teens’ misuse of cough and cold medicines containing Dextromethorphan (DXM).

Editor’s Note: In partnership with the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, CADCA developed a toolkit to help coalitions educate parents specifically about cough medicine abuse. To download our Dose of Prevention toolkit online, go to www.doseofprevention.org . CADCA has also developed a publication about prescription drug abuse, in collaboration with the ONDCP’s National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, entitled Strategizer 52, Teen Prescription Drug Abuse: An Emerging Threat. To order a copy, visit www.cadca.org and click on the Publications tab.