American Addict

You know. There are drugs in this country that are

classified as legal

and other drugs that are classified as illegal.

And, for some people, all it needs

to be labeled is legal

and if you have a doctor in place.

A doctor's an authority figure

who has the, you know,

ability to prescribe drugs.

A lot of people feel like,

"Well. If a doctor prescribed it,

it's fine."

But if we look at someone like Michael Jackson

who is probably

the most famous person on the planet

at the time that he died,

he was getting drugs

such as Propofol or Diprivan.

This is a medication that is used in an operating room,

should never be used outside of an operating room.

But he was taking pain pills.

He was taking pills for anxiety,

pills for sleep.

It's sort of an interesting question why,

you know, are prescription drugs

less dangerous than alcohol and cigarettes?

Sometimes. But sometimes not.

We've turned the corner on

drug addiction in the United States.

One of the most famous stars

in Hollywood history is dead at 36.

Marilyn Monroe was found dead in bed

under circumstances that

were in tragic contrast to her

to her glamorous career

as a comic talent.

I said, "We need an ambulance at Graceland.

Get somebody real quick."

Rigor mortis had set in. And...

I turned him over real quick.

I pulled up his pajama bottoms.

He walked in, said, "Elvis is gone."

Flowers. Candles. Notes.

These are items found

left outside of the Manhattan apartment

where the body of

Oscar nominated actor

Heath Ledger was found.

Police say prescription pills

were found nearby.

An autopsy performed Wednesday

was inconclusive.

We have a-- gentleman here

that needs help

and he's not breathing.

prescription drug abuse

had been a problem for Jackson for years.

Jackson family attorney

Brian Oxman tells us weekly.

"I warned them.

There is the misuse of

prescription medications by

people who were enabling him."

It all really started in 1972

when Richard Nixon coined

the phrase "The war on drugs."

But it's pretty clear

at this point that we have lost that war.

And that war was really

dealing with illegal drug trade.

God bless you.

What a glorious day

for American seniors.

A strong and modern Medicare starts today.

It took a lot of work to get us here,

and it took the leadership

of President George W. Bush.

Law enforcement now after 9/11

is locking down the border

and focusing on terrorism.

But when you lock down the borders

what's not getting in?

All of the illegal substances

that were coming in from out of state

are significantly reduced.

So look at the statistics.

After 9/11, it looked like

we were winning the war on drugs.

But the problem is,

no one addressed the drug seeking behavior.

The supply was reduced of your

of your street level drug.

But the demand was still there

for the misuse of drugs.

Whitney Houston was

pronounced dead at the Beverly Hilton hotel.

Greg Giraldo, who died from

accidental overdose.

Brittany Murphy, she died very suddenly.

Leslie Carter has died.

I was addicted to Oxycontin and Opanas.

40 milligrams a day along with

Dilaudid.

4 milligrams six times a day.

I was taking Norco.

I was taking about eight a day.

'co... Anywhere from two to--

Every two to three hours.

about six times a day.

Norco. Eight a day.

And pretty much every other

Opioid or dangerous narcotic

that's out there.

He said he had hurt his back

and that he was taking it because

his back was hurting.

Oxycontin and Roxicodone

and... Somas.

All prescribed at one time.

And this doctor was prescribing him

medication for an illness he didn't have.

He kind of lost his--

his drive... you want to say.

And I went to work. And about

probably like, 10:00-- I don't... even the day...

the day is just a mess for me.

I get a call. And it's my mom.

She says:

"Something's wrong with Joseph.

I went to wake him up

and there's this stuff coming out of his mouth."

And I yelled at my mom.

I'm like. "Why are you calling me?

Why aren't you calling the--

you know, the paramedics or something?"

I ran out of work, I left work.

And I prayed all the way home,

tried to bargain with god

No bargaining with god.

I got here.

No paramedics.

Only police.

And so he was gone.

And from what the coroner says, he...

he only took one pill.

He took one pill.

And his body couldn't handle it anymore.

And he went to sleep. He didn't wake up.

And I guess they found out that.

Well, maybe it wasn't just my son.

Maybe there's others.

So they started doing their own undercover work.

They went in there undercover

and how easy it is to walk into

a doctor's office and say your back hurts

"My neck hurts, my leg hurts."

and get a prescription for

A drug that is really for people

with, like, cancer or something

that's very--you know, a very severe illness.

OK. My name is sergeant Steve Opferman

from the Los Angeles county Sheriff's Department.

I'm assigned to our detective

division, major crimes bureau.

I supervise a multi-agency Task Force

called HALT, which is the

Health Authority Law Enforcement Task Force.

We handle over 100 cases a year.

We confiscate and destroy

probably $3 - $5 millions worth of

confiscated drugs annually.

We've estimated we've probably

saved the government by

stopping, you know, a lot of

These illegal businesses about

$50 million in Medicare

and Medi-Cal claims.

This is an example of

medications that we seize from

what we call "a capper".

This is a recruiter that would

go around skid row and, you know,

find people with Medicare cards.

When we're talking about the

non-controlled substances,

when we're talking about

medicines themselves. when we're talking about

medicines themselves.

There's a different black market

but the drugs are initially

acquired by the same means.

The main focus by government

is usually on supply.

If we reduce the supply,

that reduces the problem.

Well, not true.

If you have drug seeking behavior

and you reduce the supply,

it's like squeezing the

End of a balloon.