More Aussies dying from prescription pills than illegal drugs, report finds
By Gabrielle Adams 19.12.17
In 2016 there were 1,808 drug-induced deaths
in Australia with benzodiazepines the most
common single drug type, identified in 663
drug-induced deaths,” AIHW spokesperson
Matthew James said in a statement.
“This is followed by 550 deaths from other
opioids (including prescription painkillers
such as oxycodone, morphine, and codeine).”
It’s been revealed more Australians are dying
from prescription drugs than illegal street
drugs.
The reports also found around one million
Australians over the age of 14 had misused a
pharmaceutical drug in the past 12 months
and the non-medical use of those type of drugs
was higher than all illegal drugs except
cannabis.
Of the one millions who misused, 28 percent
did so daily or weekly.
The report also found people living in
‘remote’ and ‘very remote’ areas were almost
twice as likely as those living in major cities
to have recently used a pharmaceutical for
non-medical purposes.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/2017/12
/19/00/41/more-aussies-dying-from-
prescription-pills-than-illegal-drugs
Last year alone, there were close to two
thousand deaths as a result of prescription
pills, a new reports from the Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has
found - which is a rise of 168 percent in 10
years.
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Government rules terminally ill people allowed to smoke cannabis
By Anna Bracewell-Worrall and Jenna Lynch 20/12/2017
Terminally ill people will be temporarily
permitted to smoke cannabis under the
Government's new law - with New Zealand's
medicinal cannabis industry expected to take
off within 24 months.
When the scheme is up and running, patients
with a prescription will be able to access
medicinal cannabis at a pharmacy
However, there's no guarantee prohibitively
expensive medicinal cannabis products will
be subsidised by Pharmac.
Until the industry takes off, the Government
will decriminalise the use of cannabis plants
for those with less than 12 months to live, if
they have a doctor's approval.
"There will be people who can't wait.
So as an interim measure the legislation will
create a legal defence for possession and use
of illicit cannabis for people who are expected
by their doctors
to be in their
last year of
life," Minister
of Health David
Clark said.