Why are prescription opioid medicines causing so many deaths?
These medicines are being prescribed much more often since the late 1990s. With the increase in prescribing has come greater misuse and abuse of these medicines. Misuse and abuse occurs among people who have a valid prescription and among those who do not. These medicines can be dangerous for people who haven’t taken them before, or if it has been a while since they last took them. There are deadly drug interactions with drugs such as alcohol, illegal drugs, and other medicines, including anti-depressants, anti-anxiety, or sleep aid medicine.
