Coroner calls for prescription monitoring system after benzodiazepines such as Valium and Xanax abusedDespite the tightening of medicine prescription guidelines and the reformulation of some drugs to make them safer,the role of pharmaceutical drugs in overdose deaths in Victoria has increased every year since 2010, coroners’ court data shows.
Between 2009 and 2015 there were an average of 376 overdose deaths a year in Victoria, or with the annual frequency increasing since 2010 to reach 420 deaths final year,the data shows. Pharmaceutical drugs contributed to approximately 80% of these deaths, with benzodiazepines such as Valium and Xanax, and commonly prescribed to treat anxiety,the most frequently contributing drug group.
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Source: theguardian.com