and keith, how important is it that the office of national drug control policy now has an office on recovery issues? i think that is-i would have to say personally, one of the things i am most proud of the time i was there and very grateful to director kerlikowske for seeing the value of that. and again to tell a personal anecdote, when i would tell friends of mine who are in recovery they would often choke up, just the thought, they felt like at last we've made it, there's an office in the white house that's focused on us. and so just that office existence, i think, is very important to just remove the shame and help, i hope, roll back the discrimination that recovery people often encounter. and the other thing to add to it, it's good to have the office but it has to be very active, so it's been important that the director, the deputy director had been out at the recovery marches, have involved recovery people in the development of drug policy listening sessions participation, because there's so much wisdom among people who have experienced this problem about how to help the people and we h

prescription drug abuse problem with the federal drug administration; we're working with the office of national drug control policy on some of our substance abuse issues, particularly targeting young people and older adults. we're also looking, working with the centers for disease control. we're just working and working with our partners. we're asking states to do exactly the same thing. we want to give out the messages that we are trying to bring behavioral health into the primary world of health. meaning, and in a much simpler way, bringing substance abuse and mental health issues to the world of physical health. dr. greene, final thoughts? i would like to just say that promoting the community think tanks such as dc rock and other such initiatives that are there to help and provide additional services, they address needs... are a way for us to combine the health care professionals to outside community organizations so we aren't out there alone. there are other people who are working on these initiatives, and we need to combine our efforts. jane, final thoughts? one final thought: i think it's really helpful when

the office of national drug control policy calls prescription drug abuse the nation's fastest growing drug problem and they classify the drug abuse as an epidemic. of course prescription drug use itself is not necessarily indicating fraud, but the drugs are obtained through fraud. a example of the human hole of this problem was clear in kansas. in october 2010, a kansas physician and his wife, o licensed nurse who acted as the office manager was sentenced to 30 and 3 # years of -- 33 years of prison respectively for distributing pain medications to parties who overdosed. a four year investigation of the pill mill showed overprescribing of controlled substances. more than 100 drug overdoses requiring visits to wichita emergency rooms and the deaths of 68 persons, a link to the case as well as more than 4 million dollars of medicaid and private insurance claims. the jury convicted the couple finding them to direct to the death of several patients. this is a dangerous crime that yields terrible results including death. they acknowledged this as a trend for the last several years and anti

million in the past two fiscal years on counternarcotics programs, but according to the office of national drug control policy coca cultivation increased in 2010 by 33%, which led to a 13 all-time high, no pun intended. further, the new peruvian administration temporarily suspended u.s. funded coca eradication programs earlier this year. there is no question that equipment intact allergy are necessary for protect the integrity of this region from drug cartels, from extremist groups and from rogue regimes. i am pleased to see that many countries in the region, such as columbia, assuming a more active role in taking on the threat. however, venezuela and brazil's increasing purchase of advanced lethal military equipment from russia and china is very troubling and may lead to an arms race in the region. as we formulate and implement our security policy in the hemisphere, it is crucial that we understand the transnational nature of the illicit individuals and groups when we are targeting. rogue regimes come extremist groups leverage the resources of the sympathize or is too strength and their capabilities in the r

$70 million in two fiscal years on counter narcotic programs, but according to the office of national drug control policyprotecting the integrity of this region from drug cartels, from extremist groups, and from rogue regimes, and i'm pleased to see many countries in the region, such as colombia, assuming a more active role in taking on these threats; however, venezuela and brazil's increasing purchase of advanced lethal military qiement qsh equipment from russia and china is troubling and could lead to an arms race in the region. as we formulate and implement our policy, it's crucial we understand the transnational nature of the illicit individuals and groups of whom we are targeting. rogue regimes, extremist groups leverage the resources of the sympathizers to strengthen their capabilities in the region and advance their hate-filled agendas. for years, the state department reported on the fundraising activities of hezbollah and hamas in the region. this week's foiled plot contributes to the growing evidence of the potential links between these groups and the drug cartels as we know such a linkage was n