Many Nevadans crave painkillers, and some doctors oblige
Prescription drugs confiscated by the coroner’s office in the past six weeks are displayed at the coroner’s offices Wednesday.
Las Vegas Sun
By Marshall Allen
Sun, Jul 6, 2008
Nevadans consume about twice the national average of several prescription painkillers, making us among the most narcotic-addled populations in the United States, a Sun analysis has found.
The consequences are deadly. More people in Clark County die of prescription narcotics overdoses than of overdoses of illicit drugs or from vehicle accidents. In 2006, Nevadans were the No. 1 users per capita of hydrocodone — better-known by the brand names Vicodin or Lortab.
We took enough of the drug to equal 48 Vicodin pills for every man, woman and child in the state for a year. More…