Local teen overdose rate drops slightly in 2010

The Obama administration this week started an initiative to combat prescription drug abuse that would require a prescription drug-monitoring program to be enacted in each state.

Accidental drug overdoses are now the leading cause of accidental death in 17 states, ahead of car crashes, according to said Gil Kerlikowske, the White House director of national drug-control policy.

In 2010, six teens between 16 and 19 years old died as a result of overdoses in Sarasota and Manatee counties, the District 12 Medical Examiner reports. In 2009, seven teens between 15 and 19 years old died in the counties.

Of those teen deaths in 2010, two occurred in Sarasota and three in Manatee. In 2009, four died in Sarasota and three in Manatee.

For more on Obama's anti-pill mill plan, click here .