Prescription drug abuse on rise in US

The UN is to release a report on the fight against illegal drugs like cocaine, hallucinogens and heroin on Thursday.

In the US, government surveys have found that hospital admissions for drug abuse have trippled in the past decade.

However, it is the abuse of prescription medication that has begun to cause more worry in the US.

Al Jazeera's Tom Ackerman reports from Virginia, USA.