like an ambien or something like that. >> one in 20 people do this over the age of 12. these are alarming statistics. one in 20 people misuse these medications, take too much, take it the wrong way or combine it with something else. a lot of them are not addicts. the addicts may have a higher tolerance. so maybe it takes more, but in someone who doesn't do this and they have an accidental overdose, i think this is an important message. what anderson is saying the average person thinks it is not a great idea but it is not going to kill me. >> i believe this whitney houston is not going to be doctor shopping. she didn't have to shop. she as an addict was given benzodiazepine she should not have had it and not only one but three kinds and if those were what is in the bathroom, neither you or i can think of any circumstance where any patient should have all of these medications. >> we will have more in a moment. the notion of the dangers of mixing something like a sleeping pill with even two glasses of wine i find eye opening. we will talk about that after the break and dig

. >> i don't take ambien either.i'm traveling or whatever on a plane -- >> i got that the first time you said it, i heard it. >> but -- >> no, i'm not. and i'm making fun of you. you're a great example of how cautious someone must be. you're someone who is trying to use these things intelligently. you saw the caution on the label so you're trying to be careful if i have a dallas of wine. i'm being careful. i'm not driving a vehicle. if you have two glasses of wine and an ambien, you really could be in harm's way. >> really? >> let me say one more thing. when you combine these things, we mentioned that they're synergistic. it tinkers with yohig high po p that will must thalmus. you can see how deadly that can be. >> your drive to breathe goes away? >> and, also, your swallowing mechanism becomes expressed and you can aspirate. this is an important conversation to have. again, a much larger issue than this one tragedy. dr. drew, appreciate it and sanjay, appreciate it. so to underscore, even legitimately prescribed med

you spoke four times about ambien.hen you travel to other countries, i'm going to be worried. >> long plane flights. that's why i occasionally will take an ambien. >> i understand, just avoid the alcohol. >> i understand. >> but that's the issue. doctors warn their patients about not operating vehicles and not to use alcohol. they don't emphasize how dangerous it is if you have a dangerous drive. they are drinking more than they should. sometimes that combination is enough to really tip things into trouble. when i first heard this happened to her, the usual combination in my world that leads to demise is an open opiate and benzodiazepine. you mentioned lorazepam and valium being found in her hotel room as well and those are all benzos. >> and those are all -- >> anti-anxiety. sleeping, very addictive. not to be exposed to addicts and certainly that combination that sanjay and i talked about last night, never would you give all three of those to anybody ever. >> so you shouldn't be on that? >> only under extreme circums

time he's said ambien. we need to pull him aside. >> i do occasionally when i travel on a plane. >> i heard that the first time. >> i am not an addict. >> you are a great example of how cautious someone must be. you are trying to use them intelligently. you saw the caution on the label, you are trying to be careful. i saw the label but i'm not driving a vehicle. you could be in harms way. >> really? >> let me say something about that, this illustrates a point. when you combine them, it's not just adding it. it becomes worse. it deals with a part of the brain that tells you to breathe so you don't have to think about it. regulates your heart beat. if it's tinkered with, this is more science than your audience may want to know, when you go to sleep, your drive to breathe may go away. it's potentially deadly. this has been known for awhile. >> your drive to breathe goes away. >> and also your swallowing mechanism becomes suppressed. they stop breathing. >> we keep having this conversation but i think it's an i

that was 300 milligrams of ambien.our body shuts down, you go into a coma state. >> are you angry at your doctor for giving you those drugs? >> i'm very angry today with the doctors. prescription drug addiction is so huge right now, it's an epidemic. drug addiction and alcoholism, it's an epidemic going on right now, and there's people out there that don't even know they have the disease and that they're dying. i'm really angry and i told him that i was sober at the time, and what dr. drew has taught me is it wakes a beast. i can't take that kind of stuff. there's other sources out there of things you can take, like a non-narcotic. what happened was, i went back to drinking ask thnd then i weno cocaine again, and i went into treatment with dr. drew. i went for five days just to shut my girlfriend brandy up and my mom up, and i ended up staying nine and a half months. i relapsed in treatment, and my dealer at that point had hooked me -- i thought i was buying cocaine, but he hooked me on heroin, speed, horse tranquilize

you spoke four times about ambien. when you travel to other countries, i'm going to be worried. avoid the alcohol. that is the issue. doctors warn their patients about not operating vehicles and not to use alcohol. they don't emphasize how dangerous it is if you have a dangerous drive. they are drinking more than they should. when i first heard this happened to her, the usual combination in my world that leads to demise is alcohol. i wouldn't be surprised if we find that. >> when you say opiate what does that mean? >> you mentioned the xanax and i have heard reports of lorazpan. >> what do they -- those are all -- >> antianxiety, sleeping, very addictive, not to be exposed to addicts. that condition sanjay and i talked about. never would you give all three to anybody. >> if you are an addict, you should not be on xanax because of addiction? >> only extreme conditions. to have all three, there's no excuse. one doctor to prescribe all three, i don't know what to say. the opiate is the pain medication which is something she said she had a problem with. she talked about that. that i

if you take a xanex and ambien and have a sip of alcohol or couple of alcohols that can be a problemomebody who's not even an addict? >> that's right. more than a sip of alcohol presumably. the thing about it is it goes back to the idea again these medications in isolation have a certain impact on the central nervous system. the perception no one says having a drink is a good idea, you're warned when you get these medications don't take them in combination with alcohol, the message probably hasn't been loud enough, it's not just a bad idea, you could die from this unintentionally and the number one cause of death among a certain age population in this country and more cause of death than cocaine and heroin combined, more than car incidents. >> combined? >> and car accidents. >> combined. >> interesting, dr. drew, to hear the source, a family friend saying to cnn she was no longer an addict. most addicts i know will say, i'm still anned addict, i'm jus not using. >> let's be super clear. if you ever had sufficient relationship with a chemical you are given the diagnosis of addiction a

the study found subjects who took ambien or linesta. 2 # 5 deaths of people not on the drug.the study's earth spent time going over the data. >> i convinced myself it was really there. >> coauthor stopped taking his sleep medication and says whether you take several pills a year or just wop, their risk of death triples. >> patients and doctors need to be extremely cautious about using these drugs. particularly the idea nay these newer drugs are sigher, it's just not so. >> but the doctor is not convinced. he's a neurologist at the stan ford sleep center and points out the city only found similarities. >> just because there's a relationship, doesn't mean there's one causes the other. >> more studies are needed and this result should be looked at with caution. >> are you going to keep on describing this to your patients? >> absolutely. because this is just one study and you know, we'll wait to see further application of these findings before making any conclusions. >> and so the study found that basically increased death in all cues k causes. and of course, the big headline gra

these medications include saks, prozac, -- adderall, ambien.edication. i have a lot of friends and associates and i have talked to people who have used marijuana to get off those medications. to stop using theç more dangers medications. thank you. -- xdto stopç using the more dangerous medications. thank you. >> i am a patient. i have three

a new study found that people who took prescription sleeping pills like ambien, lieu is ta and othersr times likely to die than those who did not. they noted an elevated risk of some types of cancers. >>> another study found a link between drinking diet soda and heart disease. the study involved more than 2,500 people age 40 and over. it found that those who drank diet soda daily had an increased risk of stroke, heart attack, and death. more representatisearch is need >>> a spokesman from the fukushima power plant disaster says as bad as it was, it could have been worse. they even considered evacuating tokyo, a town that has 35,000 people. >> reporter: in the hours after the tsunami struck the plant, that's pictures that appear in a new report based on people who withined it. fudge yamma was the adviser. we managed on an emergency mission basis. japanese officials struggled to grasp the size of the catastrophe. as we listened to our top nuclear experts we politicians had no idea what they were talking about. would this be another chernobyl or three mile island? no one could give us a

they sound people that took ambien or lunesta were dying. whether you take several dozen pills a year or a few, the risk of death may triple. >> i've had a few sleepless nights and i've taken a few in my day, what is killing people. >> that's the frustrating part. the research isn't clear. but they did see this absolute correlation in the heaviest users of the drug class. the death risk was five times higher. cancers were higher too. it could be that people who need these heavy duty sleep aids long-term may be sicklier to begin with. they may have undiagnosed sleep apnea, that may be part of their problem. but there is also the chance of becoming dependent and it's more dangerous than we thought. that's not totally answering the question. i know the researcher said he went back and double-checked his results again and again because he couldn't believe it. but once he saw the pattern and saw it repeat, he felt like he had to put it out there. >> all right. thank you. >>> well, caught on tape, a massive dust storm in arizona. take a look at th

the people who took drugs like am by yen -- ambien were dying in greater numbers than those who do not. whether you take several dozen pills a year or a few, the risk of death more than triples. for the heaviest users, the death risk was five times higher. cancer was more likely as well. researchers still aren't sure why but people who take these sleep aids long term may not be living a healthy lifestyle to begin with or may have an undiagnosed sleep apnea condition. >>> eating omega 3 fatty acids may protect against premature aging and memory troubles. research published in neurology is the first of its kind to link blood levels with brain shrinkage. all of these factors can lead to a higher risk of developing alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. >>> 4:53. time for the question of the morning. >> the average american has at least one of these they haven't used in a year or longer. is it a, a key on their key chain, b, a gym membership, or c, a grill. >> log on to the wusa9 facebook fan page and leave your response. we'll reveal the answer during our 6:00 hour. >>> madam c.j. walke

these medications include saks, prozac, -- adderall, ambien.blems people have and doctors prescribe medication. i have a lot of friends and associates and i have talked to people who have used marijuana to get off those medications. to stop using theç more dangers medications. thank you. -- xdto stopç using the more dangerous medications. thank you. >> i am a patient. i have three children and none of them use drugs. marijuana is a medicine. the there is separation between my use and my children's availability for them to access it. youñr keep it like you would medicine. keep away from your children. i think -- i have been tooç may dispensaries in sentences go. i keep coming back to the green cross for two reasons. they have the best quality and the best price. if you want to support what makes san francisco unique and interesting,w3 supporting successful good businesses, you should support the green cross. i have done the research. they're the best. that is all i have to say. thank you. commissioner antonini: thank you. >> cresskill videtsf

study found subject who took drugs like ambien and lunesta were dying in greater numbers than those who didn't. >> after i thoroughly convinced myself that this was really there, was i willing to put my name on this paper. >> this is just one study. and, you know, i would wait to see for the recommend a repeat of the findings. >>> san mateo county transit officials are softening a proposal to raise ticket prices on caltrain. they proposed an extra 25 cents per zone for a one-way ticket, 50 cents per zone for a full day pass and now they are recommending the same increases for a whole trip or a whole day without the zones. the goal is to encourage riders to use the clipper cards and qualify for discounts. the peninsula joint corridor powers board votes on the proposal on thursday. >>> another day another jump in bay area gas prices. it's so painful out there now. aaa reports a gallon of regular is up more than 2 cents just since yesterday. but it's cheaper at nine bay area stores. the safeway in pleasant hill is selling gas for 35 cents less than its local competition. >> how much will y

however there are better times as ambien fans who gave their national team a hero's welcome on their return for winning the africa cup of nations thousands gathered at usaca airport to greet the copper bullets who beat start of a tournament favorites the ivory coast eight seven on penalties on sunday night to play in the trophy for the first time in more than thirty years thousands more lined the streets as the team were driven on the back of army trucks to show grounds where speeches and celebrations were planned. while there was little hope that a break in brazil after a player was arrested and later released despite bashing his opponent with a camera stand during an on pitch brawl he hasn't happened as a man. championship you know one of the country states of that exam that i carry ok attacking and defend out of and as the latter was doing on his license the victim was carried off on a stretcher and taken to hospital it sounds revealed there is no serious injury and he refused to press charges. that are boxing and the head of the heavyweight title fight britain derek just sora has

and ambien and drugs like it have been linked to worrying side effects.eep eating and sleep driving. >> night after night and for two, three, four months or whatever, the patient can't sleep, then it's time to go have another look. >> reporter: so if you can't sleep, this is a kind of wake-up call. don't just ask for a prescription. you need to look to see why you can't sleep. >> and short term, long term use, any conclusions? >> short term is fine. if you're having long term insomnia, it's like a mystery you have to solve. i put all kinds of information on abcnews.com about insomnia. really important to look at. >> could be your early warning system about something else. thank you, rich. >>> and still ahead, robin roberts who was right there at the oscars. [ male announcer ] that. right there -- reminds you why you fell in love with her in the first place. and why you still feel the same. but your erectile dysfunction -- that could be a question of blood flow. cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident i

and ambien and lunesta fall into the category.aying those with using them 19 times a year have a greater than risk than average, it's not clear fit comes from the sleeping pills or under lying problem that's compel people to take the drugs. >>> hawaii ranks the highest in a survey of people's survey of physical, emotional health, asking people whether they smoke or exercise do they like the work environment and how many sick days they take. and when you look at regions, the bay area does quite well. the san jose sunnyvale, jant clara ranks first followed by washington, d.c., then, san francisco, oakland and fremont followed by minneapolis and charlotte, north carolina. >> turning to business news now. are google plus users on the out? just months after launching the site? but first, apple hinting at a new ipad release. and emily chang joins us for the report. >> we know apple will be making a pro kukt announcement based on words and pictures we're looking at the next generation ipad. this says we have something to see and touch an

that seems like it's mincing words but just because i give you ambien doesn't mean you will die but peoplels have an increased risk of death. what are the associated conditions? depression, sleeping problems, sleep apnea, accidentally taking one instead of a breath mint and having a motor vehicle accident. those are associations. people who might have riskier jobs, travel more, may work weird hours. all these are confounding things. >> research seems to be more behavioral. >> it is. >> as opposed to i'm taking the pill three times a week and it's doing x to my lungs, heart and something else. >> but we are altering behavior. you take the medication to alter the behavior to get more sleep. it is a behavioral study. now there have been 24 of these studies. 18 of them showed increased risk of mortality. we tried to talk to the researcher and back him off the statement. he wouldn't budge. he said, look, i don't think they are safe. the pharmaceutical industry counters saying there are lots of safe studies. >> the pharmaceutical industry says prescription medicines undergo thorough clinical tri

. >> i am here on an ambien spree. >> very good. let's move on to the egypt funding.story confused me. dana, i come back to you. i am what doctors call stupid. i am what therapists call dumb. also i don't read. could you please reexplain everything you said in this story to me right now? >> this is all anyone needs to know in egypt right now. >> go slowly. >> i arrived in cairo on december 16th. >> cairo is in egypt. >> they were throwing actual cabinets off the cabinet building and on to protesters, the military, and then waiving their wangs. >> the cabinet building is where they make cabinets for people to buy? >> right. >> it has journeyed to the grotesque joe derosa. >> you lost me again. >> i actually started to understand the story when you put it into the hostage terms. here is my question. would you say this is black mail or is it as andy said just strategic interest? i look at it like this, the lady at the massage parlor doesn't give you your pants back until you pay the money. >> so she is holding your pants hostage. >> but it is in my strategic interest to

at scripps health in san diego analyzed patients over two years, about 10,000 of the patients took ambien or lunesta. the death rate was with four times higher for people who took the sleeping pill. their risk for cancer also increased. the finding dozen not prove that sleeping pills lead to the problems, but the medication has been shown to cause drowsiness and depression which could play a role. >>> we're going to hear from the local marine who hit the jackpot playing the penny slots in vegas, and what he plans to do next. >>> a vegas style casino could be coming to prince georges county, and local leaders want to hear what you think about the idea. >>> a wild scene at the daytona 500. how lauchb dri detergent saved the day. >>> and mike shanahan is talking franchise quarterback. could it be robert griffin, iii? and >>> the public will get a chance to voice their opinion about bringing a high end casino to the harbor. the casino could feature las vegas style table games in addition to slot machines. it's a far from done deal, residents are considering what it might mean to the quality o

. >> britney murphy, amy winehouse, not heroin, not cocaine, but valium, xanax, ambien, claiming lives don't know i was watching assistant chief coroner, very good guy seems like, he's not ready to say anything as of tonight. it does seem like this story of joplin and hendrix and morrison, what a pattern. >> it's tough to talk about after someone passes but i think we have to remember inasmuch as her voice was an inspiration, her life should be a cautionary tale to folks who want to get in the business and advance in life, that drug addiction if it doesn't kill you, it can kill your talent. so i think that is very important for us to reflect it's uncomfortable to talk about but a teachable moment for people who looked up to her. >> take the fantasy as it comes. kate coin, david, thank you for coming on. >>> here is one of whitney houston's iconic moments when she sang the national anthem at the super bowl in 1991. ♪ for the land of the free and the home of the brave ♪ [ male announcer ] we put a week's worth of bad odors in a home. some aerosols may just mix with them. can febreze real

the study found subjects who took drugs like ambien or lunesta, were dying in greater numbers than those who were not. 638 patients on sleep medication died, versus 295 deaths of people who were not on the drugs. the study's author spent months double-checking the data. >> after i thoroughly convinced myself that this was really there. was i willing to put my name on this paper? >> reporter: coauthor dr. robert languor has stopped taking his sleeping pill. he said whether you take multiple or just one, your risks double. >> i think patients need to be cautious about using these drugs. particularly the idea that these newer, shorter-acting drugs are safer, is just not so. >> reporter: but dr. nua is not convinced. he points outlet study only found an association between sleeping pills and increased death. >> the relationship there. but just because there's a relationship doesn't necessarily mean that there is one causing the other. >> reporter: he says more studies are needed. and this result should be looked at with caution. >> during 2010, between one in 20 and one in 10 adults took a s

ambien drug lake it link to worrying side effects la sleep driving and sleep eating. >> night after night and for 2, 3, 4 months or whatever the patient can't sleep then time to go have another look. >>reporter: dr. richard vesser abc news, new york. >>> all right. spencer is here with the full accu-weather forecast. we have got snow and rain to talk b.check this out. chains required on highway 50 and 80 right now. people change up on 50 towards south lake tahoe and so many scenes not like this this year. wide open no snow on 50 and 80. >> that's true. more snow is coming to the area just about a day and a half. it's a much more impressive snow fall than what. >> rain here. >> written here in fact becomes the snow there. here's live view right now from our high definition roof top camera. looking at the moon or that portion of the invisible to us and do i see foot steps. no. those are just craters. very nasty looking moon tonight. clear sky in the bay area in case you hadn't noticed. dry here in the bay area but you can see there are spots of snow fall tapering off in the sierra in the ar

the toxicology reports showed not haeroin, not cocaine but zanex, ambien. >> vip drugs.r today. he's not ready to say anything yet as of tonight. but it does seem like this story of joplin and hendrix and morrison, what a pattern. >> and it's very important. it's very tough to talk about especially right after someone just passes, but i think we have to remember. in as much as her voice was an inspiration to so many people, her life and the way she led her life should be a cautionary tale to so many folks who want to get into this business and who just want to -- drug addiction, if it doesn't kill you, it can kill your talent. and so i think that's very important for us to reflect. it's uncomfortable to talk about. it's also a very teachable moment for so many people who looked up to her. >> i think the rule is take the fantasy as it comes. don't try to create it. kate coyne and david wilson. i don't like having you on for this reason, but thanks for coming on. >>> here's one of whitney houston's most iconix moments when she sang the national anthem at the super bowl in

but he was like human ambien.se. and he said it just like that. >> jimmy: no! >> "it's a crystal vase." >> jimmy: oh my goodness. i would have taken it, thrown it on the ground and went, "yay, yay!" [ laughter ] that's what i would have done. >> i should have done that. i should have done that. >> jimmy: broken heart. i want to show a clip of you from tyler perry's "good deeds." here's gabrielle union, you guys. >> i love you. kiss the kids for me, okay? all right. bye. i love you. how amazing is it that he's giving me tonight off? i mean, i can't believe it. we're out! >> now, i'm so glad you could come out, girl. >> me, too. i know. the kids keep me so busy. >> okay, heidi, can we please not talk about your kids? >> i'm sorry. i'm sorry. >> you know what? i'm sorry. i'm a jerk. it's just that all we ever talk about these days are your kids. >> i know. i'm sorry. this is girls' night out. we're here for mark. no kids, no husband, no future husbands. in fact, i am turning this phone off. >> thank you. >> how late

how many people do you know who may have taken an ambien had a glass or two of wine, xanax. the cdc, more than 7 million americans are taking prescription drugs for no medical reason at all. the founder of intervention 911 is "outfront" tonight, and let me ask you, ken, given what you've been hearing, you're hearing about xanax in the hotel room and it didn't seem like anything like cocaine or heroin or anything like that. is this a familiar sort of scene? >> yeah, absolutely this is familiar. and it's so heartbreaking to lose somebody like whitney when we just lost amy winehouse, and michael jackson and so on and so on and so on. and the reality is, when don't know what it is as of right now, but we watched her behaviors, we watched those behaviors. and, you know, it's time to take a stance and say no more. if we see somebody with an addiction that's been diagnosed with addiction, they shouldn't have a glass of wine, they shouldn't have a glass of champagne, they shouldn't be taking a xanax to help them sleep. these are the things that kill people with addiction. and we hav