Medicating Anxiety and Overdose Risks
In the United States, consumers are taking more prescription drugs for anxiety issues and are overdoing on anxiety drugs more than ever before. Benzodiazepines (“benzos”) make up the class of prescribed drugs that are seeing markedly increased overdoses than before 1996. From 1996 to 2013 the prescriptions for these drugs, including Valium and Xanax, tripled and deaths from overdose quadrupled. These drugs are prescribed for anxiety, insomnia, and mood disorders and are also highly addictive. Over five percent of U.S. adults are part of the population prescribed benzos and the medical community warns that many people begin to overuse them or take them with opioid medications or alcohol and magnify their lethality. By 2013 the number of adults filling benzo prescriptions was 13.5 million and there was also a large increase in the number of pills prescribed per U.S. adult.
It is important to know that drug prescribing and use should be a very serious discussion between patients and trusted medical providers to assure the risks have been considered in addition to the possible benefits. Inserra & Kelley Law Offices want all their readers safe and healthy in 2016 and will bring all the latest drug news as it is released.