WV STUDY SAYS PRESCRIPTION DRUG DEATHS FAR SURPASS ILLEGALS

(03/18/2008)

A 2006 study in West Virginia showed that 9 out of 10 overdose deaths in West Virginia involved prescription drugs. The WV Department of Health and Human Resources says there's a perception that legal, prescription drugs are safer than illegal drugs. They aren't, says DHHR. Researchers studied 332 accidental overdose autopsy reports, excluding suicides and non-drug-related poisonings. One-third of the prescription drugs taken in the state's deadly incidents were being taken by a prescription issued within the previous 30 days. The report says fewer than one in four of the deaths involved illegal drugs. Methadone contributed to one out of three deaths, more than any other drug. Only 10 of the overdose victims were enrolled at a methadone clinic.

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