WHEREAS, in the United States there are approximately 6.2 million Americans, aged 12 years and older who have abused psychotherapeutic drugs non-medically in the past month. Of those, 4.7 million persons abused narcotic pain relievers. (SAMHSA, 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health); and

WHEREAS, in the United States there are more current non-medical users of prescription controlled substances than the number of cocaine, heroin, and hallucinogen abusers combined (SAMHSA, 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health); and

WHEREAS, one in five teens report abusing prescription controlled substances to get high at least once in their lives and 1 in 7 in the past year and the presence of unused controlled substance prescription drugs in the household is likely contributing to increasing rates of prescription drug abuse among teens who believe they are safer than street drugs (Partnership for Drug Free America); and

WHEREAS, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) recognizes that there is a proliferation of illicit pain clinics in the United States whose doctors are prescribing or dispensing significant amounts of narcotic pain relievers for nonmedical purposes; and

WHEREAS, the IACP recognizes that many of the doctors who work in these illicit pain clinics also hide behind a shield afforded to doctors who legitimately provide narcotic treatment/detoxification services (42 Code of Federal Regulations Section 2.67); now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police duly assembled at its 117th Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida, strongly encourages states to develop and initiate Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs and further encourages the use of these systems by practitioners and pharmacists to detect and prevent the diversion of controlled substances for nonmedical purposes; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the IACP urges consideration of the passage of statutory restrictions prohibiting convicted felons from owning, operating, or directing facilities that prescribe or dispense controlled substance pharmaceuticals to individuals; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the IACP urges consideration of amendments to statutory and regulatory requirements under 42 Code of Federal Regulations Section 2.67 that currently hinders law enforcement by providing an unnecessary level of protection to practitioners or employees of pain clinics who are directly contributing to the prescription drug abuse problem in the United States.