Drug Overdose: The Leading Cause Of Death

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“Drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the US, with 47,055 lethal drug overdoses in 2014. Opioid addiction is driving this epidemic, with 18,893 overdose deaths related to prescription pain relievers, and 10,574 overdose deaths related to heroin in 2014,” according to ASM.org. Even though the problem is completely relevant opium and opium derivatives are nothing new. Since 3400 B.C opium has been cultivated in mesopotamia for its euphoric effects. The sumerians referred to cultivated poppy as “Hul-Gil” roughly translated as the joy plant. The process of poppy culling would continue from the Assyrians to the Babylonians who in turn would pass their knowledge onto the Egyptians.
All the way through 1100 B.C Egypt was notorious