How would you solve the epidemic of prescription drug abuse?

This is a hard one. Probably make prescription drug abuse a criminal offense, but that would only make the lawyers richer, and provide more prisoners for the taxpayers to feed. Probably limit the amount of drugs prescribed to one person, and keep check on a national pharmaceutical database.

That will show some effort, but it still may not solve the problem.

I disagree with OutsideTheLines, I know of many people who use marijuana as a gateway drug. If anything I believe that it would increase overall drug abuse. With marijuana being legalized, people will end up getting bored of marijuana quicker, the effects of marijuana would be lessened because everyone would be used to it.

Three of my close friends are just overcoming prescription drug abuse, and all three of them started smoking marijuana first. I was an active smoker as well, but quit a few months ago to help my friends get rid of their addictions. As for tax money, I do believe they would make a killing off that, it would also decrease some crime rate due to marijuana would not be an illegally trafficked substance.

But alternatively those dealers and smugglers who used to bring in marijuana would start bringing in Cocaine and other illicit drugs. Legalizing marijuana is not the answer to this problem. Ms Dora, I believe that keeping track on a national pharmaceutical database would be a good way to start.

If you think about it, a lot of pharmaceutical drugs get out on the streets from "dirty doctors" if they have a database of a list of all the medicines that doctors have prescribed and to who, and also have a list of all the drugs people have taken, then it would be a lot easier to look at trending data and figure out who those doctors are. The punishment for prescription drugs is pretty strict at the moment. If you are caught with a prescription drug that you are not prescribed, it is a felony offense, so as for making the consequences worse for the users, I don't believe that will fix anything.

Creating a stricter consequence for the people dealing, I do believe that will slow things down.

Prosecute the doctors. Treat them the same as drug dealers because that is what they are.

Find the main source of it! If i"m in political position, but I know its hard to do because they are protected too by those who make money as their god.. that"s why money is the root of all evil,, and that's the only way.. cut the roots by helping each other who doesn't want their to be destroy by drugs!

By legalizing marijuana. It would give people a means to get their buzz in a safe way, keep petty criminals out of prison, and create a multi-billion dollar taxable industry. They would make a killing from it and I believe it would decrease this problem greatly.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.