(CNN) -- Pete Jackson attended his brother-in-law's funeral along with his daughter, Emily, six years ago. He never dreamed it would be the last day of his daughter's life. "It's so tragic, just not something you would never, ever expect," said Pete Jackson. Instead of going home to the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights after the funeral, Emily Jackson, 18, spent the night with her cousins.
That night, she made a deadly decision. She took an Oxycontin -- a single prescription pill -- that her cousin offered to her while drinking. She went to sleep that night and never woke up. She died of respiratory depression -- she simply stopped breathing.
While taking one pill and dying is rare, dying accidentally after using painkillers inappropriately is common. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one person dies from a drug overdose every 19 minutes. About 37,000 Americans died after accidentally overdosing on legal or illegal drugs in 2009, according to the CDC; about half of those deaths involved prescription painkillers.
Those numbers are significant enough to make prescription drugs the leading cause of accidental death in this county.
"If you asked any guy on the street what the leading cause of accidental death is, they would guess gunshot or car accident," said Tom McLellan, co-founder of the Treatment Research Institute, a nonprofit organization advocating for improvements in substance abuse policies. "They would never imagine it's pharmaceutical opioids (painkillers)."
Emily Jackson and her cousin had done "a bit of drinking" the night she died, Pete Jackson said. But he is sure that had she not taken the Oxycontin, she would still be alive today. "I've never tried to make it sound like Emily is innocent," Jackson said. "What I want people to understand about Emily's tragedy is how easily this can happen, how dangerous these drugs are."
The prescription painkiller Emily Jackson took is a respiratory depressant that slows breathing. That in combination with the alcohol, another respiratory depressant, overwhelmed her brain, which stopped giving her heart and lungs the signal to keep functioning.
"In many ways, you play Russian roulette," said Kathleen Meyers, a senior researcher for the Treatment Research Institute. "You have no idea the (respiratory) consequences of any one group of substances, and then you put all that together and the risks go up exponentially."
It's not just an issue among teenagers. In fact, males in their 40s and 50s who start off with a prescription for back pain and die from an accidental overdose several years later are dying in significant numbers. "Could you imagine, a worker that popped their back, and we started to put them on (pain) medication and three years later they were dead?" Dr. Alex Cahana, the chief of pain medicine at the University of Washington, told CNN. "That's devastating."
The devastation began for Steve Rummler when he got a prescription for nerve pain radiating through his leg and back. It started when he was 28. For the next nine years, the Minneapolis man endured the pain.
It was not until 2005, when Rummler was 37, that a doctor prescribed hydrocodone to address his pain, along with clonazepam, a benzodiazepine and anti-anxiety medication, to relieve his injury-related anxiety. Family members said it was the first time in nearly a decade Rummler felt relief from the life-altering pain he endured.
But that relief was short-lived. In a journal entry, Rummler said of the drugs, "At first they were a lifeline. Now they are a noose around my neck."
It is a common sentiment, and a common scenario, according to Meyers, who says Rummler's case is far too common -- a person genuinely needs opioids but becomes addicted to the relief they provide.
By 2009, Rummler had sunk into dependence and, eventually, into addiction. At the advice of his family, he enrolled in two addiction treatment programs and seemingly had a handle on his addiction. But in July of 2011, just 45 days after completing the final stage of his rehabilitation, Rummler relapsed and died at 43. Like Emily Jackson, Rummler stopped breathing in his sleep.
Monday, November 19, 2012
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To everyone who does things like this: Wake up. It's so easy to snuff out your life in a night of stupidity. This young woman had her entire life ahead of her and she traded it all for what? A night of euphoria? A "fun" time? Is anthing worth that?
ReplyDeleteAndrew Hagen Period 3
DeleteThis is so dumb. Why would you take prescription that you dont need. I also agree with andrew about what he said.
ReplyDeletematthew Hodek
Per. 3
i think you shouldn't take the pills your friends give you because you don't know what they are or what there going to do to you and if you are taking a prescription you shouldn't drink on top of that. its stupid what people do now a days with under age drinking and taking pills you don't need. if you don't know what it is don't take it.
ReplyDeletehaley armstrong period 3
It was a very bad choice when Emily took that drug from her cousins.I think that it is bad that people take drugs while drinking. Some people might think that it is okay to mix those things together.
ReplyDeleteAshleyotto p2
Most people do drugs because, mostly out of peer pressure. Friends can be a good thing, but it depends on the type of friends you make.
ReplyDeleteWell heck sometimes your could be what they don't seem, anybody can do and take drugs. It takes a certain type of person to not do or take drugs.
(Idiots)
P:3
P. Kevin Bouphasavanh
Since when has taking pills with alcohol ever been a good idea? I don't understand people's logic sometimes. If I'm not mistaken, don't most pill bottles say "do not take with alcohol"? If a person chooses to blatantly disregard warnings and use poor judgement in making decisions then yes, someone is going to get hurt. It is very unfortunate that this young woman died, but such tragedies can be easily avoided by using common sense.
ReplyDeleteAbby Johnson period 3
And the fact that misuse of prescription drugs is the leading cause of accidental death in America worries me greatly. Where is this country full of nonsensical people going??!!
ReplyDeleteAbby Johnson period 3
I think that you shouldn't drink and use pills at the same time because you will have regrets down the road.It is just like saying that I drank and took pills.People who do that have no common sense at all because they will do bad stuff like shooting people or die or shut the body down.They will mess up your body and your brain.I bet the person who gave that pill to the girl feels really bad unless that person has no feelings.
ReplyDeletechelsey jensen p7
I think people don't got any sense at all. Really? taking someone's else pills so you could get high; plus drinking alcohol with them? Is your life more important then having fun with friends? I know lots of ways having fun with my friends.I'll never do a thing like this. I'm starting thinking if you give your pills to someone and they die from *YOUR* pills (prescription and illegal); I think they should go to prison for murder, and prescription bottles should have finger-paints scaners. And that person that goes open that bottle have scarn his/her finger on top the lead and then the bottle unlocks it and then you can open the bottle. It's going save more people life's and if you give someone your pills and the die from it. They now know you were giving your drugs to them cause they can't open your bottles.
ReplyDeleteRyan Tappe
P7
I agree with Ryan people shouldn't be taking pills that are someone else. I think people could have fun with friends with out alcohol and drugs but they choose not to because they want to be like their friends and fit in. Which is really stupid because your life is more important.
ReplyDeleteDavid Hoang P3
I think that the reason so many people can't believe that drug overdose is a higher cause of death is becasue it's not as publicized. When people get into car crashes and shootings, the story is more likely to be on the front page of newspapers and on the news. It's not as often that you see stories on people dying because of drugs and alcohol.
ReplyDeleteBridget Erickson p7
I think that people should treat prescription drugs with more care. People don't relise the risk of the quick fix of a pill. they are very dangrous to people, but at the same time they can save lifes and make life a lot easier. They should put more thought in to make what people eat a bigger priority because most of the time we are taking pills for something we could fix from what we are eating.
ReplyDeleteMitchell Roberts p3
It really is a shame that people would do this to themselves.
ReplyDeleteSome don't know how fragile life is and how fast we can be gone and never come back.
It really is a shame that the misuse of prescription medication is the leading cause of accidental death. I agree with Bridget on why many people don't know the truth about this. The reason why it is not made public, in my opinion, is that many people are embarassed and ashamed of such stupidity happening around them. No matter the type of prescription drug, any of them (if improperly used) could potentially kill you. It's rather depressing to think that people could really ignore instructions on how they are properly used. Then again, when people are addicted or have been drinking, they are not entirely of sound mind.
ReplyDeleteMorgan Amsley-Benzie P2
I think of it as if your going to pop pills or drink alcohol don't mix the two together that's when the results get much worse and result in death. I'm not saying its good anytime but it's better not to mix the two. Also if you have the prescribed drugs don't hand them out.
ReplyDeleteSteven P7
I agree with steven if you get perscription drugs dont hand them out to people. That will help to keep kids away from perscription drugs when they dont need them. It's just stupid how we have gotten this reckless with our bodies by taking them.
ReplyDeleteGarrett Rasmusson P3
I think it is sad how prescription drugs is the leading cause of deaths in the U.S. However I think if you can reduce the amount of pills to small amounts so they cannot overdose then you'll have less deaths. Something has to be done about this cause of deaths
ReplyDeleteJared Bethune P2
It is so sad that this is the leading cause of accidental death in America. Medicine is meant to help not harm us, why must we make everything that's supposed to be good and turn it in to something so dangerous. Is your high that lasts a couple minutes or hours worth the risk of your life? Thirty-seven thousand lives taken by this stupid thing that could easily be avoided. People need to realize their body has limits.
ReplyDeleteCassie Pelland
Period 3
It's astounding how the human body will become dependent on drugs like painkillers. It's too unfortunate that people will risk death for a relief from pain, or just to "feel good" or "to have a good time" that will only last for so long. What's more unfortunate about this is that sometimes, after they get treatment for their addiction, they'll end up relapsing and then consequently killing themselves. So much valuable time wasted on something that is never worth it.
ReplyDeleteMcKayla B.
P7
I agree with Jared and Cassie. Its ridiculous that drugs are the leading cause in accidental deaths in America. I feel that the people that are popping pills feel like they don't have any other reason to live. Why would they do it otherwise? It is terribly dangerous and
ReplyDeletedownright stupid. We have medication to help our bodies with complications. Not for people to get high off of.
Molly B. Hour 7
I think its crazy that prescription drugs are the leading cause of accidental deaths. People who take them dont think about the consequences and just think about how its going to make them feel. I think there should be higher restrictions of how these are kept. If you leave them in your bathroom, people are bound to find them. I also think there should be more awareness nationally about the risks of taking prescription drugs.
ReplyDeleteAlex Burke Hour 7
Like we learned about in the presentation in the mini theater today, a lot of drug usage has to do with hormones in the brain. One second your fine, and the next your off doing something you are going to regret, but you don't even realize it. I feel that if more people were informed, like Bridget said, about drugs being the number one cause of death in the U.S. they would be lowered. At the time when she took the pills, she probably didn't realize what the effects were. Obviously, taking them alcohol was stupid. I really hope that everyone knows that. People see ads around everyday or hear/read about drugs through social media sites, like Twitter or Facebook, that make them look fun and care free. More negative sides of drugs and alcohol abuse need to be shown to people besides the obvious ones like getting addicted or going to jail.
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