PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE TASK FORCE

Funding for San Diego County PDATF is provided to CCR by San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency, Behavioral Health Services.

PDATF initially began as the Oxy Task Force, in 2008, when representatives from local county and federal agencies, along with concerned parents, convened to address the growing problem of OxyContin abuse. Overtime, Oxy Task Force members soon realized that the problem was far more expansive than OxyContin alone. To address the larger emerging prescription drug epidemic, the group reframed its mission to address and reduce prescription drug abuse, focusing on opioids, and changed its name to the PDATF in 2010. San Diego County was one of the first counties to identify and begin to address the opioid crisis.

The PDATF is a multi-disciplinary task force centered on inter-agency collaboration. It is comprised of key officials representing the Board of Supervisors, Medical Examiner’s Office, hospitals, behavioral health, public health, law enforcement, prevention providers, community members, and others all working collectively to reduce misuse and save lives. Each partner agency brings a unique vantage point and set of assets to address the epidemic from multiple angles: research and data; prevention; education; enforcement; and policy change.

San Diego County PDATF’s objectives are to: (1) decrease prescription drug abuse and access to prescription drugs for non-medical use by promoting safe storage, safe disposal, and safe prescribing practices; and (2) to increase engagement among of individuals those in need of treatment. Within the PDATF there are multiple subcommittees working to address prescription drug abuse countywide (i.e., Safe Disposal, Pharmacy, Prevention, and the Medical Task Force).

The PDATF produces an Annual Rx Report Card to provide concrete data on the scale of the prescription drug abuse problem and identify trends over time.

View the 2019 Rx Report Card.

Learn more about PDATF: www.sandiegorxabusetaskforce.org