Publication number US6630507 B1 Publication type Grant Application number US 09/674,028 PCT number PCT/US1999/008769 Publication date Oct 7, 2003 Filing date Apr 21, 1999 Priority date Apr 21, 1998 Fee status Paid Also published as CA2329626A1, 4 More » Inventors Aidan J. Hampson, Julius Axelrod, Maurizio Grimaldi Original Assignee The United States Of America As Represented By The Department Of Health And Human Services Export Citation BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan Patent Citations (22), Non-Patent Citations (29), Referenced by (42), Classifications (16), Legal Events (5) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
Tobacco killed 480,000 Americans in 2013, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Alcohol killed 29,001 in the same year. By comparison, heroin, prescription drugs, including opiods (pain killers) and benzodiazapines (anti-anxiety medication) and cocaine, the drugs with the highest number of deaths other than tobacco and alcohol, combined to kill 4,202 Americans. Marijuana, which is legal for recreational use in Washington and Colorado, did not cause any deaths, according to the CDC.