Stacie L. Patterson Law Blog

In 1979, the government started tracking deaths caused by drugs. For the first time since then, the number of fatalities from drugs has outnumbered those of traffic fatalities. Prescription painkillers and anti-anxiety medicines are the leading culprit. In what has quickly become an epidemic in this country, prescription narcotics were responsible for more than 37,000 deaths in 2009. A number of factors are causing the increase in deaths. Because these narcotics are prescribed by a doctor, many people don't view them as dangerous. Also, teenagers see their parents taking them, and can easily access them in their own medicine cabinets. While taking these drugs as prescribed can be very helpful, they can be highly addictive and dangerous when mixed with other drugs or alcohol. Drug induced deaths are most often accidental overdoses. Click here to read the original L.A. Times article.

If you have been arrested in a drug related crime, call attorney Stacie L. Patterson. (619) 269-8074