Drug deaths speeding along

October

I thought the drug generation burned out in the 60s and 70s. Guess not. Deaths from drug use—illegal, prescription, borrowed—are not only on the rise, in 16 states they have overtaken deaths from car accidents. According to an Associated Press story, New York is one of those states.

The improvement in car safety has contributed to the reversal, but even more important is the growing use of prescription pain killers.

This is another reason to believe the public service ads that remind us to keep a watch on our medicine cabinets—and keep talking to our kids about the dangers of drug use. Not that the increase is all due to young people, but recent reports suggest that kids who don’t want to smell of alcohol or marijuana are turning to prescription pills to get high. Add to that the rise in heroin use and the increase in intensity of the marijuana that’s sold these days, and you have a problem that the flower children of yore could never have anticipated.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 1st, 2009 at 12:55 pm by Debra West. | Email This Post

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