Deadlier than Cocaine, Heroin, and the Swine Flu?

[Anonymous]

Addiction to prescription painkillers — which kill thousands of people a year — has become a largely unrecognized epidemic, experts say.

In fact, prescription drugs cause most of the more than 26,000 fatal overdoses each year, says Leonard Paulozzi of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The number of overdose deaths from opioid painkillers — opium-like drugs that include morphine and codeine — more than tripled from 1999 to 2006, to 13,800 deaths that year, according to recently released CDC statistics.

In the past, most overdoses were due to illegal narcotics, such as heroin, with most deaths in big cities. Prescription painkillers have now surpassed heroin and cocaine however, as the leading cause of fatal overdoses, Paulozzi says.

        

[Anonymous]

i happened to read this on http://www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/inthenews/2009/dentists-seen-as-source-for.html ,

Individuals addicted to prescription pain medications often turn to dentists as a source for drugs like codeine, Vicodin and OxyContin, CNN reported July 21.
Typically, users will work their way through the phone book, calling dentist after dentist complaining of tooth pain and asking for a prescription. “I kind of found out on my own that a dentist will prescribe you painkillers over the phone, instead of a doctor who you would most likely have to go in and see,” said Kenny Morrison, a Los Angeles chef who ironically got addicted to pain pills after having dental work, taking up to 25 pills daily at his worst point.
“The moment somebody hangs up the phone on me, I know that they’re literally going down the book,” said L.A. area dentist Jay Grossman, who serves on the California Dental Association’s disciplinary council. “They’re calling the next one in the Yellow Pages, hoping that someone will write them a prescription. If you’re an addict, one of your resources would certainly be a dentist.”
Grossman said most such callers are deterred when he starts asking detailed questions or suggests an office visit.
Doctor-shopping is a well-known way for individuals who misuse prescription drugs to get pain pills, but dentist-shopping is less recognized as a problem. Some users even try to get drugs from veterinarians.

        

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