This webinar, conducted by Scott Novak, Ph.D., Senior Developmental Epidemiologist with RTI International, is the first in a series on prescription drug abuse prevention. In his presentation, Dr. Novak provides an overview of the prescription drug abuse epidemic, including its history, at-risk social groups, and the psycho-pharmacology. Specifically, he outlines the four major subtypes of non-medical drug use, distinguishes between the types of prescription drugs that are most abused, identifies the populations at-risk for different types of prescription drug abuse, and identifies the risk factors for various consumption patterns. The webinar is part of SAMHSA's Preventing Prescription Abuse in Workforce (PAW) Technical Assistance Project.