madmark.myfastforum.org

Mark · Site Admin Joined: 13 Nov 2007 Posts: 1052

Prescription Drugs Kill 300 Percent More Americans than Illegal Drugs

http://rinf.com/alt-news/business...mericans-than-illegal-drugs/4837/

Excerpt:

Monday, November 10th, 2008

By David Gutierrez | A report by the Florida Medical Examiners Commission has concluded that prescription drugs have outstripped illegal drugs as a cause of death.

An analysis of 168,900 autopsies conducted in Florida in 2007 found that three times as many people were killed by legal drugs as by cocaine, heroin and all methamphetamines put together. According to state law enforcement officials, this is a sign of a burgeoning prescription drug abuse problem.

“The abuse has reached epidemic proportions,” said Lisa McElhaney, a sergeant in the pharmaceutical drug diversion unit of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. “It’s just explosive.”

In 2007, cocaine was responsible for 843 deaths, heroin for 121, methamphetamines for 25 and marijuana for zero, for a total of 989 deaths. In contrast, 2,328 people were killed by opioid painkillers, including Vicodin and Oxycontin, and 743 were killed by drugs containing benzodiazepine, including the depressants Valium and Xanax.

Alcohol directly caused 466 deaths, but was found in the bodies of 4,179 cadavers in all.

kim s · Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 2:39 am Post subject: And of course...

No one is surprised that pot scored a big fat 0 for causing death.
But yet those who use it for medical reasons or recreational are vilified! Go figure Rolling Eyes

Thanx Mark, I've passed this along.
_________________
PEACE-MONGER

Paul · Guest

I can imagine that the same figures apply for planet earth. Confused