What Happens When You Die of a Drug Overdose?
Introduction According to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), 22,400 unintentional and intentional overdose deaths occurred in 2005. DHHS believes that these deaths have increased significantly since 2005, but because of the time it takes for death certificates to be processed and put into computerized data, more recent statistics have not been released. However, hospitals that have chosen to take part in the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), have shown that hospital visits for overdose have increased significantly through 2007. Depressants Death from an overdose occurs differently, depending on the type of drug being taken. Depressants are any drugs that depress or slow down your body’s systems. Drugs like opiates, barbiturates, benzos and alcohol are all depressants. These drugs cause death by slowing your nervous system down to a point where it actually stops. This stops your heart, breathing and any other survival functions that are controlled by your nervous syste
