Prescription Opioid-related Deaths Increased 114 Percent
from 2001 to 2005, Treatment Admissions Up 74 Percent in Similar Period;
Young Adults Hardest Hit

Washington D.C.-

Today, Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy, released a report on the diversion and abuse of prescription drugs at the National Methamphetamine Pharmaceutical Initiative (NMPI) in Nashville. The report finds non-medical use of prescription drugs a serious threat to public health and safety, with unintentional deaths involving prescription opioids increasing 114 percent from 2001 to 2005, and treatment admissions increasing 74 percent in a similar four-year period.



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