Celebrity Over-Dose Deaths Ignites War On Drugs: Legal Drugs Cause More Injury-Related Deaths Than Vehicle Accidents

The abuse of prescription drugs is becoming an American epidemic as the legal and illegal use of powerful pain killers rises in nearly every age group spanning the country. The majority of these drugs abused are prescriptions for opiates and methamphetamines which can be highly addictive and effective in their ability to produce the desired effect in the user.

“Drugs have always been a problem in America”, says Habbas Nassar, a licensed pharmacist and anti-narcotics advocate, “but now the pharmaceutical companies have developed drugs that can compete with the potency of street drugs, and all you need is a note from a doctor. The transaction lacks the dangers associated with buying street drugs, and the drug is assumed ‘safe’ because it came at the recommendation of a doctor. People have the tendency to think that if it looks professional and is distributed by professionals, it can be trusted. This just isn’t the case”.

Prescription Drugs - Modified Street Drugs?

A prescription drug is typically viewed as harmless because it is the product of scientific research and is recommended and sold by educated professionals. In contrast, street drugs are known to be toxic, harmful, impure, and the risks associated are usually understood by the user because of educational programs in public schools and media efforts to negate the drug’s popularity and appeal. They are also illegal, which means by virtue of the associated consequences of possession and use street drugs do not have the ability to widely transcend social and economic barriers.

However, prescription drugs are available to anyone legally at the recommendation of a doctor, are not morally shunned, and are glorified as offering relief as a 'quick fix' for many of the common physical problems which plague our modern society. In addition, aside from the usual side-effects, pharmaceutical companies are not typically at liberty to forfeit the knowledge of their product’s harmful potentials, being that they stand to profit extraordinarily from the increased use of these drugs. Just like any business, the pharmaceutical companies are interested in monetary earnings, and therefore design and distribute their products in the legal drug market despite the growing trends in user-related deaths.

But with the recent over-dose tragedies of celebrities Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger, Anna Nicole Smith, and DJ AM (to name the most publicized few), one can no longer deny or ignore the impact of pharmaceutical drugs on our society. It has been recently revealed that drug overdose contributes to more injury-related deaths than vehicular accidents in America, (Mike Stobble, Contra Costa County Times).

Addictive Pharmaceuticals - What They are, and What They Do

Because of a severe lack of accountability, the war against pharmaceutical companies is best fought by targeting the individual. Understanding pharmaceuticals is the smartest way to avoid the risks involved with drug use and abuse. Below is a brief educational discussion of the three main types of commonly abused pharmaceutical drugs, what they do, and their most common group or pharmaceutical drug name.

• Opioids- An opiate works by binding to the opiate receptors in the human brain. The produced effect is sedation and the inability to feel pain. In the pharmaceutical world, synthetic opiates appear under the name hydrocodone (Vicodin), oxycodone (Oxycontin), and meperidine (Demerol).
• Central Nervous System Depressants- A central nervous system depressant is exactly that; a chemical that works to depress brain activity. They are usually prescribed to people suffering from sleeping disorders and anxiety, as these drugs have the ability to induce feelings of drowsiness and sleepiness, and invoke an overwhelming sense of calm. These drugs are manufactured in the form of benzodiazepines, pentobarbital sodium (Nembutal), diazepam (Valium), alprazolam (Xanax) and chloral hydrates.
• Stimulants- A stimulant increases brain activity, causing a person to feel more alert, awake, energetic, and focused. It is most commonly prescribed to treat ADHD, and appears as methylphenidate (Ritalin) and amphetamine/dextroamphetamine (Adderall).

Protect Yourself and Your Family- Avoid Pharmaceutical Drugs

American’s reliance upon the pharmaceutical companies is quite disturbing; there is a pill on the market for almost every diagnosable ailment, twitch, inconsistency, imperfection, discomfort and discoloration. Our modern medical world functions on the philosophy that any one person is the bearer of some medical abnormality, be it a slight deficit in attention or an issue with weight, and that the abnormality can be treated with drugs. This frame of thought is very dangerous, and needs to be addressed immediately if Americans hope to diminish the threat of drug addiction in families and societies.


Fortunately there are alternatives for treatment and health care that do not involve this quick-fix mentality; such is the approach of Holistic and Natural Medicines. These approaches integrate the whole mind and body as opposed to isolating parts from the whole, and refuse the use of chemical synthetics in favor of organic or natural remedies made from plant and animal derivatives present in the environment. The world of Alternative Medicine is vast and offers many different outlets for the curious individual, and there are plenty of resources available at your local Holistic Health Clinic, Acupuncture Clinic, Whole Foods Grocer, or Natural Pharmacy.