Prescription Drug Abuse deaths far out number the deaths caused by street or illegal drugs. The movies would have us all believe that cocaine is the drug most used and the cause of the major number of fatalities. A report released by the Florida Medical Examiner states that three times the number of deaths are the result of prescription drug abuse than a combination of all other narcotics. These numbers do not include deaths by accidental overdose, just the use of prescription drugs for non medical purpose.
Prescription drug abuse deaths are watched closely in the state of Florida due to the lack of a state wide monitoring system. Legislation to implement such a system has lost favor due to privacy concerns. A report conducted by The Substance Abuse an Mental Health Services Administration states 7 million persons ages 12 and up have used prescription drugs for reasons other what that drug was prescribed. The report goes on to say that 2. 2 million young adults ages 12 to 25 show the greatest increase in abuse of pain relievers.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement looked at 170,000 deaths and found that less than a 1,000 were the result of illicit street drugs, alcohol was to blame in the deaths of another 500 cases and 6,142 were as a result of non-medical use of a prescription drug. Florida Drug Rehab Centers show a marked increase in admissions to their Drug Detox units for drugs like Vicodin, OxyContin, Valium and Xanax. These are substances that can be found in medicine cabinets in homes across the country. Prescription Drugs when used for medicinal purpose and as directed can be a blessing but when misused or stolen and used as an illicit drug they can be deadly.