Prescription drugs treat a myriad of medical conditions. Each prescription drug must undergo clinical trials to determine safety and efficacy before the Food and Drug Administration approves it for marketing. Despite precautions, prescription drugs can be lethal. For example, a June, 2010 report from the Florida Medical Examiners Commission found that prescription drugs were present more often than illegal drugs in drug-related deaths in Florida in 2009. The drugs that caused the most deaths were oxycodone and all benzodiazepines, including alprazolam and diazepam. At least one of these drugs was present in 79 percent of drug-related deaths in Florida in 2009.
Oxycontin
Oxycontin is a brand-name prescription drug containing oxycodone hydrochloride, a morphine-like substance indicated for the management of moderate to severe pain. According to the product label, Oxycontin is supplied in controlled release tablets between 10 mg to 160 mg strengths for oral administration. The product label advises users to swallow the pill whole and warns users that taking cut, broken, chewed, crushed or dissolved tablets can lead to rapid release and absorption of the drug that could be fatal.
In a report published in 2005 entitled "Drugs of Abuse," the Drug Enforcement Administration says that fatal overdoses among people who crush the tablet and swallow, snort or inject Oxycontin for a rapid and intense high feeling, is at epidemic proportions in the United States. The Drug Enforcement Agency reported that as of February 14, 2002, they received 949 medical examiner reports of deaths from 32 states of which 464 deaths were related to Oxycontin.
Xanax
Xanax and Xanax XR are brand-name prescription drugs containing alprazolam, a benzodiazepine. According to the product label, Xanax XR is indicated for the treatment of panic disorder. Yet Xanax can become addictive with severe withdrawal symptoms that includes death. The drug tablets can be rapidly absorbed in the body and be fatal if taken after they are cut, broken or crushed. Increases in doses can increase risk of death. Xanax XR causes sedation, especially in combination with alcohol, and can cause fatality if the user drives a vehicle or operates machinery.
Research conducted by Geoffrey Isbister and published in the "British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology" in 2003 discovered that alprazolam, the generic substance in Xanax, is more toxic than other benzodiazepines and presents increased risk of fatal poisoning.
Valium
Valium is a brand-name prescription drug containing diazepam, a benzodiazepine derivative.
According to the product label, Valium treats anxiety and is supplied in 2 mg, 5 mg and 10 mg tablets. Valium can be fatal when taken in amounts that exceed the prescribed dose, especially with alcohol.
According to the article "Prescription Drugs: Legal and Lethal" published in "The Sunday Times" in 2008, Valium, which among the most lethal prescription drugs, sometimes is used intravenously among drug addicts.
References
- Florida Department of Law Enforcement: Drugs Identified in Deceased Persons
- Purdue Pharma: Oxycontin Prescribing Information
- Drug Enforcement Administration: Drugs of Abuse
- Drug Enforcement Administration: Summary of Medical Examiner Reports on Oxycodone-Related Deaths
- ABC News: From Adderall to Xanax, It's All for Sale Online
