In recent years, the State of Georgia has been faced with a new crisis: the deadly surge of prescription (Rx) drug abuse. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has labeled this emerging form of drug abuse a “national epidemic,” and reports that Rx drugs are the cause of more deaths by overdose than “street drugs” such as cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. A recent CDC study found that in 2009 more Americans died from Rx drugs than motor vehicle accidents, marking the first time drug-related deaths have outnumbered motor vehicle-related deaths since 1979, when the government started tracking drug-related deaths.
The 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that about 7 million people regularly use Rx drugs for non-medical purposes. Unfortunately, Georgia has not been immune to this growing problem. In 2010 alone, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Medical Examiner’s Office reported there were 560 Rx drug related deaths in the 152 of 159 counties for which it performs autopsies, at least a 10 percent increase since 2009.
What is extremely troubling is that the abuse is particularly prevalent among teens. In fact, the CDC reports that one in five high school students school has taken a Rx drug without a doctor’s prescription. Even more alarming, many teens are getting these drugs from friends and family.