Hoosier deaths from overdoses went up 147 percent from 1999 to 2004, and the main culprit is not illegal drugs but the growing abuse of prescription drugs. And get this:
The problem, Wright said, is believed to be most serious among young adults and adolescents who take part in "pharm" parties, where they bring pills, throw them into a bowl and then indiscriminately grab a handful to take.
I know it's a cliche for us fuddy-duddies to say that the kids today are getting more and more reckless, but this seems to justify the term. Even those of us with misspent youths tended to ingest one thing at a time, know in general the effects it would have, and be somewhat prepared for the bad as well as the good. Peer pressure must be a hell of a lot stronger than it used to be.
