Drug ID

According to a September 17th 2011 Los Angeles Times article drug deaths now outnumber traffic fatalities in the United States. The article claims that because of increased prescription narcotic overdoses, drug deaths now outnumber traffic deaths. The article goes on to say that while most of the numbers of preventable deaths are going down, the numbers for drug overdoses are going up. Prescription drugs or combinations of prescription drugs and alcohol are causing more deaths than morphine and cocaine combined. The problem has been characterized as a problem originating in our own medicine cabinets.