In the U.S. today, drugs prescribed by doctors (myself included) kill more people than street drugs. This sobering fact was brought home by a recent article in the NY Times (reported widely elsewhere, too).
"In 2008, for the first time in nearly 30 years, more people died of poisoning than in car crashes. Poisoning is now the leading cause of injury death, and 90 percent of poisonings were caused by drugs.
Opioid painkillers like morphine, hydrocodone (sold as Vicodin and other brands) and oxycodone (Percocet and other brands) were involved in more than 40 percent of drug poisonings in 2008. These drugs were implicated in more poisoning deaths than heroin or cocaine.
Opioid analgesics accounted for 14,800 of the 36,500 fatal drug poisonings in 2008.
For full article see: Download Poisoning Kills
If you are a doctor, read this and weep. If you are a patient, digest this. If you are a family member of a patient, be vocal.