Drug Overdoses Kill More Than Cars, Guns, and Falling—UPDATE

In June, we shared the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data that tens of thousands died from drug use in 2010.  In 2011, the number of drug overdose deaths continued to rise.  To compare the data from 2010 to 2011, view the original post.  You’ll see that in just one year there has been an increase of over 3,000 deaths—nearly 8%—between 2010 and 2011. More than half of those overdose deaths (55%) are related to prescription drug abuse, and of those, 74% (16,917) were due to opioids (prescription pain medications).

Source: NIDA Drugs and Health Blog - September 18, 2014 Category: Addiction Authors: The NIDA Blog Team Source Type: blogs