3 ms·

> "the main causes of drug deaths in the UK are" Does the UK not have the prescription drug abuse we see in the US?

• Nursie 13y ago
  I don't think we're anywhere near the level you guys are on that front, no. Or if we are it's still in the submarine phase and is a huge story waiting to be broken. Codeine is available over the counter from a pharmacist with no prescription (in limited, usually adulterated quantities), people who need more painkilling tend to get prescribed higher doses of codeine, or if it's more extreme they get morphine but are highly supervised and expected to account for their usage. I don't think we've ever been as easy about prescribing oxycodone et al. as I get the impression has happened in the US. --edit-- I am well prepared to be shown to be wrong about this, but nothing I've read has indicated it's such an issue here. --edit 2-- Also they seem to like to prescribe NSAIDS here, which (AFAICT) don't have much abuse potential.
  • roc 13y ago
    > "as I get the impression has happened in the US." Yeah, you don't need to worry about the qualifiers. http://billingsgazette.com/news/opinion/editorial/gazette-opinion/gazette-opinion-too-many-pills-montana-must-stop-painkiller-abuse/article_8722c090-173b-597a-aeb4-ef113573af92.html http://billingsgazette.com/news/opinion/editorial/gazette-op... Maybe it's just that level of background exposure that set my expectations, but I'm (pleasantly) surprised that the problem might not be universal.