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American Morning

Prescription Drug Abuse a Growing Problem

Aired January 30, 2002 - 09:39   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: You know, sometimes it takes the arrest of a famous person, or a person with a famous last name, to focus attention on a potentially dangerous problem. Yesterday's arrest of Noelle Bush, the daughter of Florida Governor Jeb Bush, for allegedly writing a fake prescription for Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug, is drawing attention this morning to what some authorities consider a significant problem: Abuse of prescription drugs, especially tranquilizers.

Now, for a look at the problem, let's turn to CNN Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who joins us from Atlanta.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Anderson.

COOPER: Good morning, Dr. Gupta. So, how big of a problem is this?

GUPTA: Well, you know, Xanax is a pretty commonly used drug, actually. It is a drug, many people know, that treats panic disorders, treats anxiety, treats all sorts of different things. The DEA -- Drug Enforcement Agency actually looks at drugs and actually classifies them based on different schedules. I just put a little graphic together here. Schedule one to schedule five.

Schedule one are the drugs that have the most potential for abuse. And schedule five, as you can see there, could even be cough medicines over the counter. You can see there, Anderson, that Xanax actually falls in schedule four. So, not a drug that typically people think of as having a high risk for abuse, but certainly for people with panic disorders, people with anxiety, it could potentially be a drug that they would use frequently.

COOPER: I actually have a good friend who become addicted to Xanax, and I am just wondering, how easy is it to become addicted to a drug like Xanax, or some of these other prescription drugs?

GUPTA: Well, again, it is one of these medications. I mean, any drug certainly does have the potential for addiction. What the DEA looks at is whether or not it has a potential for abuse.

Xanax, in particular, along with a lot of the other medications that are -- counteract the effects of stimulants, can often times be addictive. People use them, again, to treat their panic disorders, anxiety, but also interestingly, Anderson, people sometimes use them as what are known as parachute drugs. People that are using them in conjunction with stimulants. After the stimulant is taken, if they come down from that, i.e. parachute down from that, they will take something like a depressant, and Xanax is as good as any of them for that.

COOPER: Right. By stimulants, you mean an Ecstacy or methamphetamine. Let me just ask you, do doctors normally warn patients, you know, when prescribing something like Xanax or Ritalin, we had someone on last week who became addicted to Ritalin, do they give a warning to the patients, this could be addictive, or can be abused?

GUPTA: Well, what the DEA has said is that there has to be written warning that goes into the packaging of the medication. Not all doctors actually probably give a verbal warning as well. Many do, but that's not a mandatory thing. But within the package insert of the Xanax, or all these depressant medications, you will see a warning about the potentials for addiction.

COOPER: All right, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks very much for being with us this morning.

GUPTA: Thank you.

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