In recent years, the State of Georgia has been faced with a new
crisis: the deadly surge of prescription (Rx) drug abuse. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has labeled
this emerging form of drug abuse a “national epidemic,” and
reports that Rx drugs are the cause of more deaths by overdose
than “street drugs” such as cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.
A recent CDC study found that in 2009 more Americans died from
Rx drugs than motor vehicle accidents, marking the first time
drug-related deaths have outnumbered motor vehicle-related
deaths since 1979, when the government started tracking drug-
related deaths. The 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health
found that about 7 million people regularly use Rx drugs for
non-medical purposes. Unfortunately, Georgia has not been immune
to this growing problem. In 2010 alone, the Georgia Bureau of
Investigation (GBI) Medical Examiner’s Office reported there
were 560 Rx drug related deaths in the 152 of 159 counties for
which it performs autopsies,