250% :o

I found a very interesting article in The Texas Tribune.  The article “Accidental Overdoses Increase by 250% in Texas” caught my attention because it talks about how legal prescription drugs when they are not being used correctly can cause accidents and how this numbers have been increasing over the years. The Drug Policy Alliance research shows that both in Texas and nationally, legal prescription drugs like oxycodone, hydrocodone and Xanax contributed to more overdose deaths than illicit drugs, and this surprised me even more.  Lawmakers in Texas are trying to pass laws to prevent this number from going even higher.  One of the bills allows for regulation and investigation of clinics and, starting in September of this year, required them to be state certified. I totally agree with this bill because this is the only way they can control this problem.  Having uncontrolled drug users will cause more accidents. Another proposed bill is to give the citizens the access of more information about naloxone, a a prescription drug made to reverse the effects of overdose from drugs like heroin, OxyContin, Vicodin and other opiates. I think this is a great idea because many users of these drugs can really benefit from naloxone. Another proposed bill is the Good Samaritan law.  This proposed law allows people to call the authorities when somebody has overdosed without fear of getting accused of being drug users themselves.  This is a very good idea because a lot of people are afraid to call the police or simply because a lot of people don’ know what to do when things get out of control. Many citizens do not know the risks of overdose prescription drugs. I think it is very important for the government to be able to control and inform citizens about the risks of using these medications.