Drug Overdose Deaths on the Rise for the 11th Straight Year

It might not come as a surprise to junkies, but drug overdose deaths have been on the rise for the 11^th straight year in a row, according to new statistics.

The news appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association, detailing the most commonly used drugs in most fatalities.

"The big picture is that this is a big problem that has gotten much worse quickly," said Thomas Frieden, according to USA Today, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which gathered and analyzed the data.

The information showed that addictive painkillers in particular are on the rise.

In 2010, the CDC reported, there were 38,329 drug overdose deaths nationwide. Medicines, mostly prescription drugs, were involved in nearly 60% of overdose deaths that year, overshadowing deaths from illicit narcotics.

As in previous recent years, opioid drugs, which include OxyContin and Vicodin, were the biggest problem, contributing to 3 out of 4 medication overdose deaths.

They're useful for cancer, "but if you've got terrible back pain or terrible migraines," using these addictive drugs can be dangerous, he said.

Medication-related deaths accounted for 22,134 of the drug overdose deaths in 2010.

Anti-anxiety drugs including Valium were also among common causes of medication-related deaths, involved in almost 30 percent of them. Among the medication-related deaths, 17 percent were suicides. 

Frieden said the data showed a need for more prescription drug monitoring programs at the state level, and more laws shutting down "pill mills" - doctor offices and pharmacies that over-prescribe addictive medicines.