JACKSON, Miss. – According the head of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, prescription pill abuse across the state has hit an alarming level.
MBN director John Dowdy, said opioids abuse is becoming such a problem in the state Governor Bryant has issued a task force in order help better the understand of the problem.
“Last year there were enough prescription opioids dispensed in the state of Mississippi that every living, breathing person, from infant to the elderly, could have had over 70 dosage units per person,” said Dowdy.
The majority of opioids being abused are mostly pain killers according to Dowdy. Hydrocodone and Oxycontin being the two most popular. Those who can’t get a prescription or those who can’t afford the drugs often times turn to heroin which is also considered an opioid.
In 2015, drug overdoses were the leading cause of accidental death in the US, with 55,403 lethal drug overdoses. According to the Addiction Society of Addictive Medicines, opioid addiction was the driving force with 20,101 overdose deaths related to prescription pain relievers, and 12,990 overdose deaths related to heroin in 2015.
