By Tom Kisken
Saturday's Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is a big deal because:

- Nine of the 13 underage deaths caused by drugs and alcohol in Ventura County over the last two years involved prescription or over-the-counter drugs.

- About 237 people 25 years old and younger were treated and released at hospital emergency rooms or transferred for more care in 2009 because of problems caused by sedatives or opioids. In 2006, there were 138 such cases.  » More

By MyHealthNewsDaily Staff
Prescription narcotics were involved in more drug overdose deaths in 2007 than heroin and cocaine combined, according to a new article. And in some states, the number of deaths from prescription painkiller overdose is higher than suicide or car crashes.

Approximately 27,500 people died from unintentional prescription narcotics overdoses in 2007, driven to a large extent by prescription narcotics overdoses, said researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Narcotics pain medications were also involved in about 36 percent of all poisoning suicides in the U.S. in 2007.  » More

From newswise.com: A new report based on a national survey shows that only 1.2 percent of the nation’s more than 7.4 million adults aged 21 to 64 with an untreated alcohol abuse disorder perceive they could benefit from treatment. The report released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in conjunction with National Alcohol Screening Day, April 7, highlights the need to raise awareness about adult problem drinking, how to identify when someone has a problem, how to confront a problem drinker and how to get help.

Read full article from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) on Newswise  » More