Steve Lynch: “I want to thank my friend and colleague, Mr. Keating, for his leadership on this issue. I rise this morning, along with…”

“I want to thank my friend and colleague, Mr. Keating, for his leadership on this issue. I rise this morning, along with several of my colleagues, Mr. Rahall and Mr. Keating, whom you just heard, and also Chairman Rogers, to talk about the very important issue of prescription drug abuse in America. Prescription drugs are responsible for the fastest growing area of drug abuse in this country, ahead of cocaine, heroine, methamphetamines, and other drugs. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, prescription drugs cause most of the more than 26,000 fatal overdoses that we see each year. Despite this alarming number, there exists a lack of knowledge about this particular type of substance abuse that prevents many people from identifying it as the problem that it is, and that in turn makes it more difficult to achieve a real solution. Prescription drug abuse is an epidemic in this country plain and simple, and it must be dealt with as such. While prescription drug medication can help people suffering from a range of chronic and temporary conditions, for many others, exposure to pain medication, whether prescribed or obtained through other means, can be the beginning of a long and tragic battle with addiction. As you heard from previous speakers, from Massachusetts to West Virginia to Kentucky and to California, many of my constituents also struggle with prescription drug addiction and its consequences.…”