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Showing Original Post only (View all)10 Most Dangerous Prescription drugs in America .. [View all]
Alter Net
from:
The Fix/Kevin Gray
http://www.alternet.org/story/153576/the_10_most_dangerous_meds_driving_america%27s_pill_crisis?akid=8073.37525.zmi2LV&rd=1&t=5
For the first time in nearly a century, automobile accidents are no longer the nations leading cause of accidental deaths, according to a major report released Tuesday by the National Center for Health Statistics. The new number one killer is drugsnot smack, crystal meth or any other stepped-on menace sold in urban alleyways or trailer parks, but bright, shiny pills prescribed by doctors, approved by the government, manufactured by pharmaceutical companies and sold to the consumer as medicine. Yet of the billions of legit pills Americans pop every year for medical conditions serious and otherwise, the vast majority of lives are claimed by only a select few classespainkillers, sedatives and stimulantsthat all share a common characteristic: they promote abuse, dependence and addiction.
This list of brand name and generic drugs was compiled from the Drug Abuse Warning Network's (DAWN's) database of emergency room visits in 2009, including drug poisonings that lead to both deaths and survivals.
1. Xanax (alprazolam) 112,552 (benzodiazepine class)
2. OxyContin (and other oxycodone drugs) 105,214 (opiate class)
3. Vicodin (and other hydrocodone drugs) 86,258 (opiate class)
4. Methadone 63,031 (opiate class)
5. Klonopin (clonazepam) 57,633 (benzodiazepine class)
6. Ativan (lorazepam) 36,582 (benzodiazepine class)
7. Morphine drugs 31,731 (opiate class)
8. Seroquel (quetiapine) 29,436 (antipsychotic class)
9. Ambien (zolpidem) 29,127 (sedative class)
10. Valium (diazepam) 25,150 (benzodiazepine)