Nation’s drug czar says Michael Jackson’s death is wake-up call about prescription drug abuse

Drug czar says Jackson’s death a wake-up call

WASHINGTON — The government’s drug czar says that Michael Jackson’s death is a wake-up call to the nation about prescription drug abuse.

Gil Kerlikowske, chief of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, says more people are dying in the United States from drug overdoses than from gunshot wounds.

Kerlikowske said Thursday on CBS’ “The Early Show” that parents are the key to addressing the problem of misuse of prescription drugs.

Kerlikowske says he’s unable to talk about Jackson’s untimely death while an official inquiry is still under way. But the drug czar emphasized that Jackson’s death should alert the country to the peril posed by powerful drugs that can save lives when they are used properly.

Investigators looking into the cause of Jackson’s death have homed in on drugs that were administered to the musician to fight his insomnia.