John Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy, visited United Way Partnered-Agency Odyssey House Louisiana, Inc. March 9th to discuss recent trends in drug use, particularly the increase in prescription drug abuse, and to observe the center’s substance abuse programs.

Director Walter also highlighted the President’s National Drug Control Strategy, an attempt to reduce the American drug use.  The strategy includes initiates such as the Access to Recovery program, which is an attempt to heal drug users.

Senator David Vitter (R-LA) and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana Jim Letten also attended the visit, as well as New Orleans City Council Members and other relevant policy makers.

Odyssey House Louisiana Executive Director Edward Carlson and Office of National Drug Control Policy [ONDCP] representatives have met regarding on the current violence and crime in New Orleans and its relation to the drug trade and the lack of substance abuse treatment services available in New Orleans. Carlson also recently drafted a policy recommendation paper addressing the link between crime and drugs in New Orleans, recognizing the demand reduction side of the drug trade. This paper offers policy recommendations on how to link all aspects of criminal justice (police, courts, etc.) with substance abuse treatment providers (prevention, intervention and treatment) and with the larger community as a whole to fight the current violent crime as a unified system. This paper can be downloaded from OHL’s website at www.ohlinc.org under the Resources tab, or Latest News section on the homepage.

In Louisiana, 8.14% of teens ages 12-17 abused prescription drugs in the last year, above the national average of 7.13%.  Among 18-25 year olds, 13.2% used pain relievers non-medically in the past year, also above the national average of 12.16% for that age group.  According to a new survey data report by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, hundreds of thousands more students are abusing prescription drugs including Ritalin, Adderall and OxyContin than during the early 1990s. Analyzing outside survey data, the Center calculated 23% of college students meet the medical criteria for substance abuse or dependence.          
           
For more information regarding the National Drug Control Policy please visit http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/.