NaturalNews.com
Originally published September 2 2008
Prescription Drugs More Deadly Than Cocaine, Heroin, Amphetamines
by Sherry Baker
(NaturalNews) When handsome and talented young actor Heath Ledger died
last winter, the New York City medical examiner's autopsy re****t
revealed his death was due to an unintentional life-ending cocktail of
prescription drugs, including anti-anxiety medications Alprazolam
(Xanax), Diazepam (Valium) and Lorazepam (Ativan), the sleeping pill
Zopiclone (Lunesta) and the sedative Temazepam (Restoril), which is
also used for insomnia.
So this was just one of those rare tragedies that mostly happens to
troubled or hard living Hollywood stars, right? Wrong. Unfortunately,
people from all walks of life are dying by the thousands across the
U.S. due to prescription drugs. And a new study, Florida's annual
re****t on Drugs Identified in Deceased Persons, dramatically
illustrates this truth.
Relying on autopsies performed in 2007, the state re****t concludes
prescription drugs (anti-anxiety benzodiazepines, the muscle relaxer
carisoprodol and all opioids, excluding heroin) continue to be found
in both lethal and non-lethal amounts in the dead far more often than
illicit drugs.
The bottom line: the rate of deaths in Florida caused by prescription
drugs is over three times as high as the rate of deaths caused by all
illicit drugs combined.
The study shows 2,328 Floridians died of opiate, or painkiller,
overdoses while another 743 lost their lives from over-consuming
benzodiazepines, which include the drugs Valium and Xanax. On the
other hand, about a third less number of people, 989, died of
overdoses from illegal drugs like cocaine, heroin, or methamphetamine
("speed").
In a statement for the press, Bill James, Director of Florida's Office
of Drug Control, said: "Prescription drugs are not safe and must be
secured. Doctors and pharmacists must help law enforcement identify
and stop doctor shoppers. We are also looking for ways to curb illegal
internet sales. Only through a comprehensive, coordinated strategy
will we be able to reverse this tragic, unacceptable trend."
That's a nice goal and it is true some people abuse prescription
drugs. However, the Drug Enforcement Administration states as many as
7 million Americans are abusing prescription medication -- far more
people than those using cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, Ecstasy and
inhalants combined.
And the truth is, even when legal medications are taken as prescribed,
they are too often dangerous and even deadly. In fact, according to a
study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association
(JAMA), an estimated 1.9 million adverse drug reactions occur each
year, and up to 180,000 of them could be life threatening or even
fatal.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released data
showing that at least half of all Americans take one prescription drug
and one in six of us takes three or even more prescribed medications.
And this love affair with pharmaceuticals for health problems is no
doubt why prescription drug deaths are now the fourth leading cause of
death in the United States, after heart disease, cancer and stroke.
About the author
Sherry Baker is a widely published writer whose work has appeared in
Newsweek, Health, the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, Yoga Journal,
Optometry, Atlanta, Arthritis Today, Natural Healing Newsletter, OMNI,
UCLA's "Healthy Years" newsletter, Mount Sinai School of Medicine's
"Focus on Health Aging" newsletter, the Cleveland Clinic's "Men's
Health Advisor" newsletter and many others.
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