How many people drugs kill every year, I assure you the problem is bad and getting worse.
In 1979 the U.S. Government began tracking drug-related deaths and for the first time those deaths have surpassed the number of traffic fatalities on an annual basis.
The most recent statistics, taken in 2009, show that 36,284 people died in traffic related accidents while 37,485 people died from drug related activities in a one year period.
For those of you who read this blog regularly you know the primary culprit is prescription drugs, not street illegal drugs. Some of the medications causing these deaths include Xanax, OxyContin and the main culprit Vicodin which killed more people than cocaine and heroin combined.
The primary lethal drug in the United States is literally right under our noses – on the bathroom sink or in the medicine cabinet.
The study also revealed that traffic related fatalities have actually fallen by a third since the 1970s even as the number of drivers using American roadways continues to increase, while drug related deaths have doubled in the last decade. Deaths among the 50-year-old to 69-year-old crowd have been even worse, tripling during the same time period.
Not all deaths have been related to drug overdoses from drug abuse, in many cases double dosing by adults has been the culprit.
In the meantime parents are urged to speak with their kids not just about street illegal drugs but also the medications found in medicine cabinets which can be just as addictive and just as deadly.
Perhaps a good online drug awareness class is in order.