Editing Drug overdose (section)

==Classification==
The word "overdose" implies that there is a common safe dosage and usage for the drug; therefore, the term is commonly applied only to drugs, not [[poison]]s, even though many poisons as well are harmless at a low enough dosage. Drug overdose is sometimes used as a means to commit [[suicide]], as the result of intentional or unintentional misuse of [[medication]]. Intentional misuse leading to overdose can include using prescribed or non-prescribed drugs in excessive quantities in an attempt to produce [[euphoria]].

Usage of [[illicit drugs]], in large quantities, or after a period of drug [[abstinence]] can also induce overdose. [[Cocaine]] and opioid users who [[Injection (medicine)#Intravenous|inject intravenously]] can easily overdose accidentally, as the margin between a pleasurable drug sensation and an overdose is small.<ref>Study on [http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/7/31 fatal overdose] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119041854/http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/7/31 |date=January 19, 2012 }} in New-York City 1990-2000, visited May 11, 2008,</ref> Unintentional misuse can include errors in dosage caused by failure to read or understand product labels. Accidental overdoses may also be the result of over-prescription, failure to recognize a drug's active ingredient or unwitting ingestion by children.<ref>"What to do with leftover medicines". ''Medicines Talk'', Winter 2005. Available at {{cite web |url=http://www.nps.org.au/consumers/publications/medicines_talk/mt14/what_to_do_with_left-over_medicines2 |title=What to do with left-over medicines: National Prescribing Service Ltd NPS |access-date=January 6, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091024010012/https://www.nps.org.au/consumers/publications/medicines_talk/mt14/what_to_do_with_left-over_medicines2 |archive-date=October 24, 2009}}</ref> A common unintentional overdose in young children involves [[multivitamin]]s containing [[iron]].

The term 'overdose' is often misused as a descriptor for [[adverse drug reaction]]s or negative [[drug interaction]]s due to [[polypharmacy|mixing multiple drugs simultaneously]].