In Portugal 2001, illegal drugs were decriminalized as part of a risky attempt to reduce drug addiction. What was expected to fail and cause a social debacle, became a rather effective tool in helping resolve drug addictions.  What Portugal discovered is that a large portion of illegal drug addicts were afraid to seek help for fear of being arrested or worse. By removing the fear of severe negative reinforcement, Portugal officials found a significant increase in drug addicts seeking help. 

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The disposal of prescription drugs can become just as harmful as abusing them. In cities across the country, water supplies have become "contaminated" with prescription drugs due to improper disposal. With the drugs left swirling down the drain and dumped into fresh water supplies, certain elements of the pharmaceutical supplements are left floating in our water supplies. 

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In Pennsylvania, a law was passed that lifted the requirement of prescriptions for hypodermic needles.  Through this change in policy, the state Board of Pharmacy was hoping to decrease the spread of disease amongst addicts reusing needles.  While the law has shown success previously in other states, the law brings up significant controversy. 

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Television, radio, the internet, we are constantly bombarded with public service advertisements explaining the severity of using illegal drugs such as heroin, meth, or cocaine.  In reality those drugs are a lethal threat to addicts who struggle with them, but in reality, the number of deaths due to overdose don't hold a candle to prescription drugs. 

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With the ever-growing use of online networking for communication, law enforcement and physicians have now constructed a virtual bridge to help identify prescription drug addicts.  Through the online database set up in California, doctors there are given the opportunity to provide information to police departments in a more efficient manner than over the phone or by fax, which often have the misfortune of having information lost or easily disorganized. 

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