The Bush administration's new National Drug Control Strategy ranks prescription-drug misuse right below marijuana use as the nation's biggest drug problem and sets a goal of cutting abuse of prescription medications by 15 percent in the next three years, the New York Times reported Feb. 10.

The document, released by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) late last week, calls on states to adopt prescription-drug monitoring programs to combat abuse.

Drug czar John Walters touted a 23-percent decline in illicit-drug use since 2001 but also called for increased drug-testing in schools, saying the U.S. would "look stupid in five or ten years if we don't do this."

Critics responded that the raw number of drug users was less important than whether the overall harm from drug use and prohibition declined -- which they say has not.