The fight to stem the damaging tide of prescription drug addiction came to Georgia this week with a summit of the state's top law enforcement officials.
The main purpose of the summit was to brainstorm new strategies for cracking down on pill mills that dole out dangerous and addictive prescription drugs. The man responsible for overseeing the Drug Enforcement Administration's investigations of prescription drugs, Joseph Rannazzisi, told the summit that the prescription drugs have now replaced marijuana as the new "gateway drug" for teenagers. There is fear that a new generation of people addicted to prescription drugs will be around the corner.
"This country has an insatiable appetite to feel better," Rannazzisi said. "We take prescription medications to feel better and our kids see us doing that."
The devastating results of prescription drug abuse have taken a deadly toll on residents of Georgia. According to Dr. Kris Sperry, a medical examiner with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, siad that 508 Georgians died in 2009 from prescription drug overdoses. This is a frightening number and about six times the number of Georgians who died from overdoses caused by abusing illegal drugs.
The summit is part of effort led by the Atlanta U.S. Attorney's Office and included federal investigators, medical experts, and legitimate pain clinic physicians. "Prescribing Our Future: A Summit On Prescription Drug Abuse in Georgia" was held at Georgia State University. The summit was hosted by the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Office of National Drug Control Policy, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency.
