Pills trump guns. Again.

For 40 years, car accidents and firearms were the leading killers in the United States.

Now, for the second year in a row, Health E-Stats released death caused by poisoning as the #2 reason for death by injury.

Usually the term ‘poisoned’ creates images of toddlers breaking into their parents’ cabinets and fatally playing with/tasting cleaning or yard care products. But in this case, the poisons are narcotics.

As a 23-year-old college student, I’m not surprised. I recently had shoulder surgery, and following my procedure, I suddenly became a popular person to call. The “Hi, how are you feeling?” turned into “So, what kind of pain killers did you get? Any extra?”

I know that tons of people swallow pills recreationally, and never accidentally overdose. But the fact is, these prescription drugs are killing thousands of people every year. Methadone is the main culprit, but plenty of other narcotics are highly addictive and leave their consumers yearning for more.

Educate? Publicize? Limit Prescriptions? I don’t know what the answer is exactly, but the stats show that adults in their middle ages are dying at the highest rates here. I think popping a pill is often substituted for human interaction, and confronting depression (in our population as a whole) is a good place to start.