I Am Not Posting About...

...Heath Ledger being dead. I think it is morbid to watch the uproar. It reminded me, however, of something interesting I had found when I was a lecturer at the hospital (Yes, I was. Sort of.) Apparently the rate of accidental deaths due to misuse of medication in the U.S. is exploding. 6.7 out of 100,000 deaths in the U.S. are attributed to accidental overdose. If I may get on my soapbox for a minute-not on a blog, forsooth- I would like to make a connection to our criminal lack of a national health care system. So many people, unable to gain access to the medical system, must resort to self-medicating. Whether this is for physical ailments, or untreated mental illnesses this must be a serious contributing factor to the growth in numbers. I can't find any research on this, but if you come across any numbers, please let me know.