Last week, the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health held its first in a series of hearings looking into the problem of prescription drug abuse. Prescription drug abuse has become an increasingly devastating problem across the country with approximately 22,000 deaths associated with prescription drug abuse and direct health costs exceeding $70 billion annually. Representatives from the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Center for Drugs Evaluation and Research at the Food and Drug Administration, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration all testified to the problem.

The hearing focused on a number of areas that demonstrated the breadth of the prescription drug abuse problem – the prevalence of "pill mills," the manufacture of abuse-tolerant prescriptions, prescription drug monitoring programs, prescription drug rescheduling for certain products and pain management education for medical professionals as well as the need to preserve access for those with legitimate needs. The discussion generally focused on opioids and hydrocodone which have been among the most likely to be abused.

While the Health Subcommittee has primary jurisdiction over this issue at the Committee, other Subcommittees have also weighed in on this issue. Last Congress, when I chaired the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, we held hearings on preventing the diversion of prescription drugs and examined what actions Congress could take to address this issue.

For more information on Congress' continued efforts in this growing epidemic or the issue of substance abuse prevention and treatment generally, please contact Mary Bono.