Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Prescription drug abuse claims a second generation of Appalachians

The New York Times Magazine reported nearly a decade ago on the scourge of OxyContin in Appalachia. Now, today's paper brings us a grim update under the headline "Ohio County Losing Its Young to Painkillers' Grip." Sabrina Tavernese reports from Portsmouth, Ohio, population 20,180. There, in Scioto County (population 76,310), nearly 1 in 10 babies born last year tested positive for drugs. By 2007, fatal overdoses had surpassed automobile accidents as the top cause of accidental deaths in Ohio. The number of such overdoses in the state quadrupled in the past decade.

Read more here.

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