The war on drugs may change to the war of prescriptions as a new study claims that more and more people are dying from the misuse of drugs like Valium, Ativan, Klonopin and Xanax, according to CBS News. These sedatives from the benzodiazepine class seem to be making an impact on society with more than 30 percent of the 23,000 prescription drug overdoses in the U.S. stemming from them in 2013.
"In 2013, more than 5 percent of American adults filled prescriptions for benzodiazepines... As more benzodiazepines were prescribed, more people have died from overdoses involving these drugs," said Dr. Joanna Starrels, an author of the new study. "And the overdose death rate increased more than four times from 1996 to 2013."
The drugs are dangerous because they can slow breathing, and when mixed with other drugs or alcohol, the combination can be deadly.
Experts are still unsure why the increase in the drugs' use is occurring, however. Some believe the need for the drugs has simply risen, while others believe the benzodiazepines are being prescribed more as a common practice to treat certain symptoms, according to CNN.
The results from the study have been published by the American Journal of Public Health.
