ER visits for abuse of prescription drugs on the rise

Published June 18, 2010

ER visits for abuse of prescription drugs on the rise
LOS ANGELES — Emergency room visits for non-medical uses of opioid prescription drugs more than doubled between 2004 and 2008, and for the first time, the number of ER visits for prescription drugs equaled the number of visits for illegal and over-the-counter drugs, federal researchers said Thursday.