Michael Jackson and Prescription Drugs

In the U.S. President Obama's Drug Czar, Gil Kerlikowske is already using pop icon Michael Jackson's death as a warning to others over the misuse of prescription drugs:

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Director of National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlikowske told CNN on Thursday that Michael Jackson's death is a "wake-up call" about prescription drug abuse in America.

Kerlikowske, who is referred to as the drug czar, said more people die each year from drug overdoses than from gunshot wounds. And he said there are a lot of different problems that contribute to the high fatality numbers. To combat this issue, Kerlikowske said he advocates prescription drug monitoring programs passed by individual states and a media campaign focused on keeping young people off these types of medication.

Whilst the warning is useful, it is a shame it is connected with Michael Jackson and not aimed more at the doctors who prescribed him huge amounts of useless drugs to which he became addicted. These unnecessary prescriptions are not confined to the US. We had a woman recently who was given a weekly cocktail of depressants and uppers plus sleeping pills for 5 years and the GP kept increasing the dosage because the woman couldn't sleep. Would that GP put that amount of drugs in his body? And why only mention young people? Very few people under 30 come to ADMIT with a prescription drug problem.