I Was Shamed by My Doctor for Being Black

[Mariana]

113. I wouldn't be surprised if we had fewer overdoses overall.

At any rate I don't think there would be all that much of an increase. If it can be bought legally, it will be in standard dosages like every other legal drug including alcohol, so the user can know exactly how much of the drug they're taking, unlike with street drugs. Of course there will always be some who go overboard and kill themselves with it. People die of acute alcohol poisoning (i.e. overdose) every day, and I don't really see much of a difference between that and OD'ing on painkillers or tranquilizers or whatever.

BTW, I've always wondered how many people who die from taking drugs like Vicodin are actually killed by acetominophen toxicity, rather than by overdose of the narcotic. Tens of thousands of people OD on plain old Tylenol every year, and hundreds die. It's very dangerous stuff if you take too much of it and it's in most of the prescription pain medications.