The opioid crisis has led to thousands upon thousands of deaths, overdoses, andexpenses around the country. There is a growing awareness of drug addiction, its causes, and an understanding of addiction as a medical condition. While the death toll associated with overdoses is often reported because it is so strikingly high, the high number of drug users across the country has also led to many car crashes.
Certain types of drugs make it dangerous for a person to operate a motor vehicle. While drunk driving is a well known legal violation and roadway danger, it is not the only type of drug that can impact a person’s ability to drive.
Studies have indicated that there are many prescription medications that make driving risky. Many of the drugs known to create driving hazards are forms of muscle relaxants, narcotics, and benzodiazepines. These types of drugs are used to make people sleepy. Obviously, having a person fall asleep while operating a motor vehicle is a dangerous scenario.
The problem created by these drugs is compounded by the fact that they are addictive substances. Narcotics and benzodiazepines both rewire a user’s neural connections and lead to people feeling that they need the drug to live. These individuals will often do anything to get some of the substance if they are cut off of the drug. This can lead to criminal behavior as addicts attempt to lie to doctors to get prescriptionsor take even more extreme actions.
The highly addictive quality of prescription opioids has also led to some individuals resorting to illegal forms of opioids once they are cut off of the legal supply of a prescription drug. Thus there are more people using illegal drugs as well, and some of them choose to drive under the influence.
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Chicago, IL 60602
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