Report: Prescription drug overdose is America's latest epidemic

By Staff Writer

A new study reveals that overdose deaths caused by prescription medications have reached epidemic proportions in the U.S.

The report, which appears in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, is based on data collected by officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, University of North Carolina and Duke University. Researchers concluded that, in 2007, prescription opioid pain killers were responsible for more overdose deaths than heroin and cocaine combined.

Overall, there were approximately 27,500 Americans deaths in 2007 as a result of unintentional overdoses, which is about 4.6 times more than the total U.S. fatalities in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. To put the 2007 totals in perspective, researchers said that the drug poisoning deaths would be the equivalent to losing an airplane carrying 150 passengers every day for six months.

However, drastic measures would be taken to prevent recurring plane crashes. The study's authors are concerned that the drug epidemic, specifically the abuse of prescription medication, is being ignored in the U.S.

Parents of adolescents who use drugs may consider enrolling their children in a summer boot camp.