In the Room for Debate article entitled “How to Curb Prescription Drug Abuse,” Robert F. Bukaty asks, “What is the best way to curb prescription drug abuse while ensuring that patients still receive the medications in need?” Involved in the conversation are writers: Kevin A. Sabet, Andrew Kolodny, Linda Simoni-Wastila, Calvina Fay, Jonathan Caulkins, Carol J. Boyd.

Sabet believes that prescription drug abuse can be curbed if it was a requirement for prescribers to us their states Prescription Drug Monitoring Program which is a database that stores the information of substances prescribed in the state. He also recommends that the government should invest in more community-based programs specialzing in the prevention and treatment of addiction, stop Medicare fraud, and have the DEA et up more unwanted prescription take backs to reduce the amount of available, abusable medications in people’s homes.

“Doctors have contributed to an epidemic of overdose deaths and addiction by overprescribing opoids,” says Kolodny. He believes that opoids should not be used for the treatment of chronic pain. Kolodny places the blame solely on doctors and doesn’t seem to have an actual solution or an actual answer to the question at hand.

Simoni-Wastila supports having a National Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, which would collect information such as “prescribing, dispensing, and consumption patterns of controlled prescription medications, states with these programs can easily analyze information necessary to identify -and prosecute- fake prescriptions, “pill-mills,” dctor shoppers, and insurance fraud.”

Fay understands that there really is no way of stopping the opoid epidemic. She, however, provided a list of ways that could help curb prescripton drug use. She agrees with what some of the other writers have already suggested while adding, forgulations for pain clinics, and FDA approval of tamper proof formulas for alternative pain medications.

Caulkins feels that prescription monitoring is a lot like gun control. There is a difference between those who obtain prescriptions from doctors and those who buy from someone who is selling their prescription instead of taking it. He believes that, ike guns, if someone wants the prescription they will get it, and either way, pharmaceutical companies still make a profit.

Boyd thinks that physicans should be weary about refilling pain medication and prescribe out only exactly what the patient would need. She also says that it’s not just the system that should change but also the patients. Patients need to dispose of their unused prescriptions when not needed any more and only take them as prescribed.

I think that all of these people have great ideas, except Kolodny, he only blames the doctors and that’s ridiculious. I have a plethora of experience with addicts and addiction. In my experience, if someone wants to get high, they will get high. It’s not the doctors fault, it’s the persons choice. Unless someone held you at gun point and forced the drug in to you, then it is your choice. In my opinion, the best way to get a handle on the opiod epidemic is to put more money in to mental health, a lot of addicts self medicate to treat underlying mental health issues. Bring back the D.A.R.E. program because kids are our future and they need to be educated early on about addiction. Lastly, Medicare only approves enough rehab time to detox, and in their eyes that takes 3-7 days, which is ascenine to think that is enough time because detoxing off of alcohol alone can take several weeks. Medicare should approve in-patient rehab for at least 90 days if not more, which may seem extreme but people are dying out here, we need to be extreme.