Bitter Love between Utah and Pharmaceuticals
In a nod to the pitfalls of religious repression, Utah has become the nation’s leader in the abuse of pharmaceutical drugs. There were 317 deaths related to non-illicit drug use in the state during 2008, that is far more than the number of people who died from using illegal drugs and for the first time exceeds the amount of fatalities from car accidents. It may not be definitive that this abuse stems from the serious discouragement of mind altering substances on all levels by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but even the Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has directly correlated Mormon culture with the staggering statistics.
