Legal Drug Deaths Skyrocket
The number of fatal poisonings involving opioid painkillers more than tripled from 1999 to 2006, from 4,000 to 13,800 in one year, according to a new report from the CDC. These drugs – Vicodin, OxyContin, fentanyl, and their relatives – now account for 37 percent of poisoning deaths, up from 21 percent in 1999. And the Associated Press reports that drug deaths now exceed auto accident fatalities in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.
The drugs that killed nearly 14,000 people in 2006 are, of course, legal medicines. They have been approved for sale by the same federal government that bars medical use of marijuana – for which the count of medically confirmed overdose fatalities remains zero.
This gets even crazier when you consider that – as we’ve pointed out before – there is evidence that use of medical marijuana can help some pain patients reduce their doses of these dangerous and addictive narcotics.
Tagged with: CDC and deaths and Medical Marijuana and opioids and overdose by the author
55 comments
This is why people need to contribute to MPP – to help communicate the message that there is something wrong with this picture……
It really is true that medical marijuana patients are able to greatly reduce and sometimes even eliminate their dosages of opioid narcotics.
And to be able to even partially replace a dangerous, addictive and potentially deadly drug with a benign, non-addictive and non-lethal one is a very good thing.
AND THATS WHY EXCALTY WHY CANNABIS IS ILLEGAL…PHARMA ISNT THERE TO MAKE YOU HEALTHY, ITS TO KEEP YOU SICK JUST ENOUGH TO GET YOU TO YOUR NEXT LEVEL OF MEDS….MONEY …WHAT DO U EXPECT.
now is the time folks…. we all need to push this issue harder than ever! the whole country is talking about marijuana…. even if we get medical marijuana legalized on the federal level, think about it…. it will be open season on studies and that will help with full legalization all together
we are winning…. lets keep this momentum….. dont let the pendulum swing the other way…. i dont think its possible this time with wide use of the internet
How many dollars could we save in the United States if we had a federal medical marijuana program when you add up the savings of not having to buy expensive pills. We know that marijuana would treat vast major of aches and pains. I feel that marijuana would become a subsitute for pills like asprin all the way to oxycontin. As a country we could be saving tremendous amounts of money by just not buying as many prescription and over the counter pills.
They are waging the War on Drugs… we are waging the War on Idiots.
@ Wild Bill.
And you think that these multi-BILLION dollar corporations are gonna let that that happen?
http://www.examiner.com/x-23625-detroit-dr
“This gets even crazier when you consider that – as we’ve pointed out before – there is evidence that use of medical marijuana can help some pain patients reduce their doses of these dangerous and addictive narcotics.”
“You gotta be outta your mind not to smoke dope” ~Jack Herer you got it spot on buddy!!!
#6 i really like that idea a war on idots. the only thing is these aren’t idiots its the us goverment. It has become greedy, corrupt, and unmerciful as related to the last 3 articles posted on this site. How do we take back a small piece of our liberty and freedom. the above article gives us some clues. we use facts and reason in the face of their rhetoric and lies. We win the hearts and minds of the american people and show them that their freedom is on the chopping block. god bless america!
Besides the lengthily contraindications of the drugs big pharma…the largest world drug cartel…pushes on main stream media advertisements, have you also noticed the various attorneys advertising their class action law suits over their “legal” drugs gone bad ? Now, the newest fear factor, the flu, enabled the vaccine makers to legally have no responsibility…you have no recourse…if something goes wrong from the flu shot. Our congress at work…making sure the special interests will make lots of $$$ and be protected in our techno science dictatorship monopolistic capitalistic system. Not tested…not safe…but you may be forced to take it…I know, lets have another debate…another study…lets have a vote…trial, experiment, analysis, blah blah blah…over the beneficial uses of the cannabis plant. The hypocrisy is so thick and becoming so obvious. If they really want to kill us I suggest….okay I better stop here…to stay healthy in the future, I suggest having a good supply of lead, along with some gold and silver, as precious metals, for the now and the future.
Unfortunately law enforcement is reacting to this trend in exactly the wrong way. Instead of encouraging the use of alternatives, they’re going with the old tired “war” approach on these prescription drugs as well.
This, of course, does little to stop recreational abuse by folks intent on getting high. What it does is handcuff doctors and force patients — many of whom have a legitimate medical need for large amounts of opioids — to live in excruciating pain or break the law (sound familiar?).
So yeah, legalizing pot has been and will remain a great solution to mitigate this sort of problem. I would much rather vaporize some herb for pain than take addictive drugs. But let’s be careful not to encourage the “crackdown” mentality regarding these opioid drugs, when we’ve all seen how much harm that approach does with marijuana.
I was on big pharma and now I use cannabis. The only way for them to keep their big billions of dollers in proffit is to keek the safest DRUG on this planet illegal. Overgrow big bro!!
Elliott Spitzer said he things marijuana should be fully legalized last night on Real Time with Bill Maher. Does anyone have a link to a video of it???
JD:
HBO OnDemand….
Just goes to show how the federal government wants us to buy there drugs but what they dont see is by legalizing marijuana they can tap into a large quantity of money that is lost to drug dealers every day.
The pharmaceutical companies are not loosing sleep over it. They got plenty of money to buy lawyers, politicians, judges, television networks, local and federal police force, and the president and vice-president of the United States.
What would happen if someone die of marijuana ? It would be the first in the 5000 year world history of cannabis.
Just a thought, but i think a good collaboration on the deaths from marijuana (0) in comparison to legal drugs would be to try and get michael moore to use his comedy to educate the public on such a ridiculous effort on prohibition.
I could have been another number in these stats. After 4yrs of Methadone for my pain control, I had to get my life back …. Thank GOD for Cannabis.
i read this to article to my fellow teachers at lunch today and then commented about how 800,000 americans are arrested each year for pot possession and that you think they would be mentioned in this article. No pot death toll was mentioned.
prohibition is like pounding sand, lets see how far you get.
as of today the US has spent 38 BILLION dollars this year on the drug war this year. Keep a running total at : http://www.drugsense.org/wodclock.htm
I have no faith in the United States of America when it comes to marijuana and its prohibition. Too many “rich” or elitists that have too much of a say (money) in keeping marijuana illegal. The citizens of America don’t believe it should be criminalized. At least when it comes to people who use the internet.
I’ve said for a while now that prescription pills, more specifically alprazolam (xanax) and oxycodone (percocet/oxycontin) were going to be the hard drug of choice for my generation. (I’m 21).
In my area of NJ it’s gotten so bad that its often easier to get your hands on Rx drugs than good ole MJ.
Dont ya just love it. You turn the TV on,see ads for legal drugs, all with descriptions of all the bad things that canhappen to you(and in many case do). You can even DIE using these drugs they promote for use. Yet we can not use,legally, a plant proven to have minimal side effects, valuable medical uses and isnt no where as bad for you as legal medical drugs ,tobacco or alcohol.
Humm. Guess we will all end up dying in pain and enslaved. You know sure as shit they will severly tighten controll on all pain meds soon. We are already slaves ,so no need for them to work on that.
CORRUPTION: A disease that spares no one.
Wild foot chase ends in arrest of four men suspected of processing pot
By Record Searchlight staff
third cannabis story this week. is it like this in every ones town papers, cannabis stories every week. all negative too. the post is up to 54 replies
Funny that this report came out since they just did a story here in my state saying presciption drugs are on the rise and that more and more citizens are geting more and more presciptions. Now on top of that these same drugs are killing people in record numbers, when will we ever see the light and stop pumping people full of man made pills? When will we wake up and see marijuana could be used to treat alot of these illnesses and problems and do it safer and without deaths to boot.
Bruce, I saw your similar article on Opposting views; glad to see this getting out to a wider audience. Others who would like to weigh in at that site:
http://www.opposingviews.com/articles/opinion-legal-drug-deaths-rise-marijuana-deaths-remain-at-zero
Now doing the goofy thing of replying to my own post, here’s a copy-and-paste reply to Bruce’s Opposing Views article:
Marijuana in various forms, not necessarily smoked, has been used for medicine , relaxation, and introspection for centuries in many parts of the world. Marijuana appears to provide relief from pain, nausea, and other symptoms, with fewer ill effects and a greater margin of safety than many other classes of drugs . In particular, marijuana is safer than the narcotic drugs commonly administered for pain, and safer even than the non-narcotic drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen and related compounds that are responsible for a few hundred fatal poisonings each year ( http://www.acponline.org/journals/annals/15sep97/nsaid.htm ).
In 2008, the American College of Physicians stated: “Evidence not only supports the use of medical marijuana in certain conditions but also suggests numerous indications for cannabinoids. Additional research is needed to further clarify the therapeutic value of cannabinoids and determine optimal routes of administration. The science on medical marijuana should not be obscured or hindered by the debate surrounding the legalization of marijuana for general use.”
Here’s the link to the American College of Physicians paper on medical marijuana at http://www.acponline.org/advocacy/where_we_stand/other_issues/medmarijuana.pdf
Some great material for passing along to legislators, city councils, and other decision makers.
Cannabis almost eliminates my need for Vicodin, It all depends on the strength of the cannabis I can obtain, The State I live in still has not approved it so I have to rely on a fair to poor quality imported product, Legalize or let me grow my own medicine and keep the money in the U.S.!!!! Unusual home power consumption gets reported so I cannot grow inside without risking legal problems I cannot afford, Not to mention all the wonderful privacy invasive toys law enforcement are playing with today, Infrared,FLIR,Etc.
Just remember, They can point a sensor at your house and tell you how many people are in your home. Scary Huh.
{Don { 10.02.09 at 8:00 am } Cannabis almost eliminates my need for Vicodin, It all depends on the strength of the cannabis I can obtain, The State I live in still has not approved it so I have to rely on a fair to poor quality imported product, Legalize or let me grow my own medicine and keep the money in the U.S.!!!! Unusual home power consumption gets reported so I cannot grow inside without risking legal problems I cannot afford, Not to mention all the wonderful privacy invasive toys law enforcement are playing with today, Infrared,FLIR,Etc.
Just remember, They can point a sensor at your house and tell you how many people are in your home. Scary Huh.}
Heres an Idea around the problem of the high energy use in your home. I may cost you but it may work too. Purposely increase you energy use, wait and see if any thing comes of it. If you get a knock on the door, no worries,you got nothing to hide . After that you should be in the clear. Just an idea. If anyone sees any holes in that plan,please post them.
Thanks for the article Bruce, my arsenal of documents continues to grow.
As far as government fighting us, yes they are however, didn’t I read awhile back that it was MADD and the Beverage Association that was opposing the most ? If anyone can remember please respond.
DarthNole: Extra good laugh for me this morning, thank you. I was writing a response to revere’s post as you were posting!
Keep up the good work, don’t always expect a response from the old guy either.
The real message here is just how brainwashed the public is. The object of Big Pharma is to keep you hooked and buying their meds. Everybody makes money. They are the ultimate drug dealers and medipot is trying to muscle in on their turf.
please checkout the CCI, the californiacannabisinitiative.org , this destroys oaksterdam and truly has a chance to make the ballots and then pass in 2010! please consider volunteering for CCI to help gather signatures to get this initiative on the 2010 CA Ballots?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJG_P8GPdJU
34# please educate me as to why this destroys oaksterdam, and if it does why is that a good thing. right now i see oaksterdam as a huge positive, helping us push our issue to main stream like no one else. thanks
Don #30 buy LED grow lights…. they use very little power and do not get hot its the best of both worlds…. less power, less detectable dont skimp tho…. you get what you pay for. 40-60 Watts of power vs 400-1000 Watts…. the lights pay for themselves plus you dont need a source of cooling which is less for electric…..
#35 there are 480 cities and 58 counties, oaksterdam leaves it up to these individual places to decide whether to allow marijuana & hemp sales. California needs to come together as a state and legalize, thats the only model we want for the rest of the nation to adopt. how many cities and counties are there all across the USA? insanity to let them all decide.
also, the 1 ounce possession limit of oaksterdam is unreasonable. it ensures that we need to keep returning to the dispensaries to buy at inflated prices.
JLI # 36 : Where theres a will theres a way eh? LOL
37# thanks for your reply. i understand the need for legalization in california, and if it can be done any where in the us it is in california. I have not gone to oaksterdam, i read their site often, and have seen a few tv stories on them so my knowledge is limited, but from what ive seen they’ve set resonable expectations for what a free market weed comunity would look like in america. they’ve pushed the boundaries politically with the measure z clubs and they’ve made a decent amount of money which is the bottom line for almost all things ethical or otherwise these days.
the prices, well they do kind of have a lock on the market i imagine there but ounce we see a free market model set up on a larger scale you can probably expect more competition.
What should also be made clear is that both Jack Herer and Jack Herer/Dennis Peron are two of the most important and respected members of the Marijuana Re-Legalization movement. And despite this they have been demonized by groups that purport to support Marijuana Re-Legalization for many years: NORML, DPA and MPP.
yup ROE …. LED grow lights are the best thing to happen to indoor cultivation since electricity….. and they keep getting better and better….
R.O.E.#31 I thought about just lighting the holy crap out of my place ’til they just couldn’t take it anymore and just kicked in my door only to find that I like a lot of light. With the settlement I could buy myself a bunch of REAL good growing equipment, after all they’d be pretty shy about kicking in the door a second time.
But all that went for naught after my state got MMJ and it doesn’t matter what they might think is behind that door..
Type MARIJUANA in google and you get stupid shit like this happening. She has to pay 500 DOLLARS for medicine/ A PLANT in her purse.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gqQplGnRw7B4blp4QGQok6B8ynQQD9B1ASQ00
J.W. #42:
Ya thats the idea. Glad to hear your state has gone to MMJ. Illinois is in the proccess of it. I live across the river and will move to illinois so I can use it for my depression. Have had this problem since I was a teen. Tried pharm anti-depressants and would rather be in a train wreck than use pharms again. I’m very hopefull.
lost hope: It’ll all even out when we can end this madness all together, that’s the desired End Result. Right now the movement is still gaining it’s balance and there are growing pains.
I’d gladly pay a large sum of money for Medical MJ right now if our state offered it. Heck, I’d even get a second job if I had to, at least I’d be feeling better physically.
well god knows i like my xanex and my percocet and every other drug i got put on. I wish I could just smoke a joint instead of being a zombie on the lexapro and topamax and xanex but I guess I gotta follow in the way of big brother until my state legalizes MMJ. IF my state legalizes………
# 10 says:
“How do we take back a small piece of our liberty and freedom.
the above article gives us some clues. we use facts and reason in
the face of their rhetoric and lies. We win the hearts and minds
of the american people and show them that their freedom is on
the chopping block.”
………….
I came across a news story today that was anti drug user
orientated, but as I read it, I noticed it provided a clue to
the anti-drug users stratagy.
The news story is titled ”War On Drugs’ Conference Got The Issue Wrong’
and is located at
http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_13479490?source=most_emailed
I had read a news story about the conference before coming
across this column and was intrigued that this guest columnist
would even bother to take such a bold stance against the
obvious message that everyone else got from the conference.
It’s almost a perfect propaganda write-up and the writer is
an example of obsolete mentality who probably asked someone
in the public relations department to write it for him.
The content included the following sentence: “A
comprehensive approach of prevention, treatment and
enforcement is the key in the fight against drugs.”
#10 says “we use facts and reason in the face of their
rhetoric and lies.
If you examine his three points as an explaination of
stratagy then you have to defeat those three points to
win the fight.
I am wondering if our arguements have really been
slightly off mark and if we should be countering these
three points more directly, consistantly and openly.
The three points can mean so much in their own specific terms
while their meanings are used so broadly by the media that
its easy to keep peoples minds swayed in the wrong direction.
It’s not impossible to find good counterpoints when we are
faced with such manipulative terms as those but we need to
focus on them and expose their flaws to gain some more ground.
end
*************************************************
#17
Could it be that the pharmies are not the only culprit
on the block.
Could it be that the fertilizer and pesticide corps have
a hand in this prohibition too.
Monsanto is the biggest and has the worst track record
and deserves to be scrutinized.
Monsanto has been responsible for putting many American
farming families out on the street, they dont give a damn
about anyone.
for instance…..
that article is precisely the attitude we are fighting. the prohibitionist will claim chaos will ensue if cannabis is legalized, fear, they will claim dire health consequences will befall you if you use cannabis, lies with out fact. Keeping a cool head and arguing the facts of cannabis vs alcohol or tobacco speaks for it self.
check out this article in Fortune magazine on medical marijuana and the paradox of it’s illegal status in the United States
http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/11/magazines/fortune/medical_marijuana_legalizing.fortune/index.htm
My local news affiliate reported this story using a picture that showed a pile of powder (cocaine I think) on the side and dead center in teh picture a huge cannabis leaf. Me and a few otehr wrote the station and demanded they change the picture since the story had nothing to do with cannabis. They have since removed the picture. I wonder how many people they mislead
Full disclosure: I work for Current.com, the online division of Current TV.
I thought you might be interested in checkout out our Vanguard season three premiere, “The OxyContin Express.” Here’s a link to a blog post about the show:
http://blogs.current.com/currentdotcom/2009/10/08/vanguards-the-oxycontin-express-gets-a-first-look-on-hulu/
The Vanguard team didn’t address alternatives to pain management that you mention, but that’s an interesting point.
Let me know if you’d like to see more information about the show.
Thanks!
mario
Something to think about.
The largest outcry from the public that the FDA has ever recorded was nearly one quarter of a million requests in the to ban genetically altered food stuffs. That’s almost 250,000 people that voiced their opinion before the FDA moved by public demand on an issue under it’s control.
Now I ask you why?…why?… why can’t the marijuana movement, as a whole, rally together and submit one million requests to the FDA to demand that they re-cassify cannabis out of schedule one status.
It’s not that we don’t have a million supporters because we have far more than that.
It’s not that we don’t have a substantial amount of public support because we do, according to almost every public poll given in the past few years.
It’s not that we don’t have the scientific evidence to back up the requests because there are more than enough clinical results, research experiments, medical reports and other various medical documentations to support the demand.
A campaign launched with a single purpose, across all the different lines within the movement, can create the change in a positive way that can make it possible to open the rest of the doors for total marijuana law reform.
i unfortunatly am taking large amounts of two of these drugs and can not walk or funtion without them and i have tryed …these are worse drugs then any one could be on and would gladly turn in all of my pain meds . if i could find the right buds to cure my pain ..i dont like taking them they screw up every thing good that once was and now im stuck taking this shit for now until america wakes up and fights back!!!
Thanks for the post.
Frightening Stats.
Your post seems like an open and honest debate about the benefits of legalizing marijuana should be brought to the table.
http://capwiz.com/norml2/home/ Go here and write your elected officials, tell them to regulate and tax Cannabis. Free Hemp to help end the negitive side of the carbon cycle. Call 202-456-1414 and tell the White House to free Cannabis for responsible adults!
Love, peace and Cannabis
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