Prescription drugs abuse increased by 111 percent in US! This
old study by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is shocking, but the report by Center for Disease Control and Prevention that prescription painkillers have surpassed heroin and cocaine as the leading cause of fatal overdoses, is truly alarming. According to CDC, accidental overdoses from
Vicodin and other narcotic pain relievers kill 5.38 times more people than heroin.
The population of United States makes less than 5 percent of the world's population, but consumes 80 percent of its prescription painkillers. Vicodin is the most prescribed opioid in US but it is no less addictive than heroin. The only reason that more than 600,000 doctors licensed by DEA often prescribe Vicodin is because it is not as tightly regulated as other pain-relievers.
As more Americans develop addictions to prescription drugs, US are experiencing a surge in violent crimes as addicts are taking drastic measures to fuel their fix. In order to avoid withdrawal symptoms, they resort to violent crimes in an attempt to obtain prescription drugs at all costs. Too many patients are turned into addicts after taking legitimate prescriptions. However, they are forced to turn to crime if they lost their job and end up without their prescription but with an undying addiction. As the old saying goes, it's not the drugs that kill people, it is people that kill people!
Four people were murdered at a Long Island pharmacy when David Laffer opened fire after emptying the store of their entire supply of drug Hydrocodone. He killed a 17-year-old clerk, a middle-aged pharmacist and shot a couple in the back of the head. Two armed and masked men seeking a prescription narcotic cough syrup rich in codeine robbed drug store in Oakland, California. In Virginia, a 27-year-old Michael Edward Towle tried robbing a Lynchburg drug store twice in one day. The second time, he entered the pharmacy with a three-foot-long samurai sword. Jonathan Ross Carlton, was sentenced to 60 months in prison after robbing a string of pharmacies in Washington DC area... In 2010, 686 pharmacies were robbed in US - an increase of 80 percent since 2006.
Are we going to wish for the return of good old days of robbing banks and liquor stores?