4 NEWS
SANTA ANA COLLEGE el Don/eldonnews.org • MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2015
The now-illegal MDMA, also known as the rave pill ecstasy,
could be approved as a prescription drug as early as 2021.
Photo Illustration by Joanna Meza / el Don
When an RX kills instead of heals
F
STORY BY CHEANTAY JENSEN
atal overdoses from controlled prescription drugs overtook car accidents as the leading cause
of death in the U.S, a 2014 report from the Drug Enforcement Agency found.
The most common types of abused controlled prescription drugs are painkillers, which are
both highly addictive and expensive on the black market. Illicit use is a huge problem, said Cpl.
Anthony Bertagna of the Santa Ana Police Department.
Methlynedioxy-methamphetamine, the core ingredient in the party drug ecstasy, is currently
undergoing the Food and Drug Administration’s review process. If approved, it may become a prescription drug by 2021.
Ecstasy sold in the United States is often not pure MDMA, but a mixture of dangerous chemicals
like methamphetamines and caffeine made in clandestine labs in Canada, according to the DEA.
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PILL NATION
Party and prescription drugs
contribute to overdoses.
120
Estimated
number of
people who
die each day
in the U.S.
because of
an overdose.
SOURCE:
2015 National
Drug Threat
Assessment.
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ON MEDS?
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46,471
The number of drug
induced deaths in 2013.
8
Percent of
overdose deaths
among 24-to-35
year olds.