dr. condon? i think dr. clark's point is right on. a medicine cabinet in 2009 has a different connotation than it did with my parents' generation. and back then it was where you kept the medicines that were very, you know-you mentioned the word- we needed to respect them, but as the culture has changed with supplements and advertisements and, yes, we encourage people to get medications for their ailments, and we have many more lifesaving medications available when appropriately-. the medicine cabinet's no longer that sacred place where you store things. in fact, i would maintain, personal observation, we don't even have a medicine cabinet. we have them all-we have medications in drawers, on counters. and i bet you most families, in fact, probably do the same thing. that's correct. and talking about what we keep in the medicine cabinet, i'm intrigued about an off-camera conversation we were having related to medical marijuana, that some states are allowing medical marijuana to come in, and dr. condon, you wanted to make some observatio

dr. condon, then it's good for me. and so he takes it, then, gee well, i can take it; but dr. on would have had it prescribed by a physician for the purpose of, for that designated purpose. i, on the other hand, don't have that issue, so i take it, and, boom, i get an overdose, or somebody else is taking the medication for a period of time, and they take that dose and nothing happens. i take the same dose, and, boom, i'm out. but we also have to keep in mind, driving while under the influence. i take that dose, and the next thing i know i'm woozy, i get behind the wheel of a car, and i hurt somebody, if not just myself. so the key issue is, the other person for whom it's designated doesn't have that experience. and so they, you know, it's safe for them. i can bring that to a personal level also, with prescription medication-is that back in 1981, i had migraine headaches and was prescribed a narcotic, an opiate, specifically demerol, and started taking the medication. and as you continue, potentially, as you continue taking the medication, when we look at the disease of addictio

dr. timothy condon, deputy director, national institute on drug abuse, national institutes of health, u.s. department of health and human services, rockville, maryland; dr. barbara krantz, chief executive officer and medical director, hanley center, west palm beach, florida; beverly gmerek, prescription drug abuse prevention program coordinator, peer assistance services inc., denver, colorado. dr. clark, how prevalent is prescription drug misuse in the united states? well, we estimate that there are approximately 15 million people who misuse prescription drugs in the united states, and that gives us an estimated 2.5 million new initiates per year, or, if you think about it, that's about 7,000 new initiates a day. and within that, do one age group uses it more than others? what is the distribution among the age groups? well, i think the most important thing to keep in mind is that prescription drug abuse affects the entire age range. we might see some peak use in the 18 to 25-year-olds, but it is a problem that confronts every age range, and what we shouldn't do is to simply dismiss it as

dr. condon, final thoughts? safe and effective medications as prescribed for you. that's the message that we have to reinforce with the parents, the young people, and our health care professionals so that they can reinforce it, too. beverly? store your medications like you would your credit card, your social security number, your cash; keep them safe, and treat them as valuables. dr. krantz? if you recognize that you're taking medications more frequently, or a higher or longer duration, that there is help out there for you. and, dr. clark, final thoughts. well, i think again, the whole topic in terms of dealing with prescription drugs, whether it's opiates or tranquilizers, making sure we keep in mind inhalants because there are some therapeutic inhalants that people use for colds and other situations, and, of course, the topic of medical marijuana so that our kids don't start thinking that "oh gee, if i can-if a doctor prescribes it for chronic pain or a medical condition, i should run out and start doing marijuana." it's an important message. prescription drugs,

dr. condon rate is back in court whether he'll stand trial on charges related to jackson's death. >> michaelncluding his sister latoya, mother katharine and brother jackie attended tuesday's hearing loss angeles. several fans also stirred up the courthouse where proceedings began to determine whether there's enough evidence to try dr. conrad murray for involuntary manslaughter in the death of michael jackson. more than a year- and-a-half later the cause of jackson's death is clear. acute intoxication approach of fall op powerful sedative. it could cause of death remains the subject of a loss angeles criminal court case focusing on dr. conrad murray. his personal physician. he was treating jackson with the drug and several others to help jackson sleep as he prepared for a growing series of performances. an autopsy report included the proper procedures were not followed and administering protocol to a thick year-old singer. >> they filed a felony counts of involuntary manslaughter against conrad >> murder> he said his client is not responsible for jackson's death. >> there's no way that might