News from DEA, News Releases, 10/29/07

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 29, 2007
Contact: DEA Public Affairs
202-307-7977

DEA to Host Prescription Drug Abuse Symposium “Good Medicine, Bad Behavior: Drug Diversion in America”
With Companion Exhibit Opening to the Public the Following Week

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OCT 29 -- (Washington, D.C.)-Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Karen P. Tandy and the DEA Museum Foundation will host a first-ever national symposium on prescription drug abuse. The event, “Good Medicine, Bad Behavior: Drug Diversion in America” will take place on Friday, November 2, 2007 at 1 PM. It will be held in DEA’s auditorium, 700 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, Virginia. A press availability with the moderator and panelists will be held immediately following the conclusion of the symposium at 4 PM in the DEA Auditorium.

DEA Administrator Tandy and ONDCP Director John Walters will give remarks opening the symposium. Stephen J. Pasierb, President and CEO, Partnership for a Drug Free America, will moderate the panel. Panelists will include: Joseph Rannazzisi, Deputy Assistant Administrator, DEA Office of Diversion Control; Sharon Brigner, Deputy Vice President, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA); William Jacobs, MD, Associate Professor of Addiction Medicine, University of Florida; Michael Moné, BS, JD, FAPhA, Director of Regulatory Compliance, Medicine Shoppe International; Ms. Francine Haight, R.N., Member of the Board of Directors, Families Changing America; and H. Wesley Clark, MD, Director, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.

The symposium is designed to shed light on the growing trends in prescription drug and precursor chemical diversion and abuse that is increasingly gripping America’s young people. Recent surveys have shown that prescription drug abuse is second only to marijuana.

The “Good Medicine, Bad Behavior: Drug Diversion in America” symposium will bring together some of the best minds in the fields of law enforcement, industry, public policy, science and health, and medical practitioners for a public discussion on the complex issues surrounding the diversion of pharmaceutical drugs and efforts to combat this growing problem in America today.

The companion exhibit opening to the public November 13, 2007 is an interactive exhibit that delves into the prescription drug abuse problem crippling America today. The exhibit explores the history of prescription drug abuse and diversion in the United States and efforts to combat the problem through time. The exhibit includes re-creations of period pharmacies, depictions of significant cases, and displays illustrating the impact of these substances on the human body. The rise of rogue internet pharmacies in the past ten years is highlighted. The exhibit presents the science of how these medicines can have therapeutic effects on the body when taken properly but detrimental effects when misused. There is also a resource area where visitors can read more about the issues surrounding prescription drug abuse, interact with key anti-drug abuse websites, and take home literature with more information.

The DEA Museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 AM to 4 PM free of charge. It is located at 700 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, VA (South Hayes Street Visitors Entrance, one block north of the Pentagon City Metro stop.) Press inquiries should be directed to DEA Public Affairs, 202-307-7977. All Museum queries should be directed to the DEA Museum Business Office, 202-307-3463.

For more general information please visit www.goodmedicinebadbehavior.org, www.dea.gov and www.deamuseum.org .

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