Drug overdose deaths in America are rising exponentially

The problem is bigger than any one drug, researchers say

BY 

AIMEE CUNNINGHAM 

6:01PM, SEPTEMBER 20, 2018

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/drug-overdose-deaths-america-are-rising-exponentially



opioid_feat-NOT JUST ONE The drug overdose problem is bigger than any one drug, according to a new analysis of the overdose epidemic from 1979 to 2016.

Even as the country’s attention is focused on the ongoing opioid epidemic, a new study shows that the United States has had a wide-ranging drug overdose problem for decades, and it’s growing ever worse.

Analyzing nearly 600,000 accidental drug poisoning deaths from 1979 to 2016 shows that the country has seen an exponential rise in these cases, with the number of deaths doubling approximately every nine years, researchers report in the Sept. 21 Science. More than 63,600 Americans died from all drug overdoses in 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Numbers of accidental overdose deaths due to individual drugs, such as heroin or methamphetamine, have varied during the 38-year time period. But combining the data, from the National Vital Statistics System, produces a clear — and troubling — pattern, one that portends that the overall overdose epidemic will continue in the future, the researchers conclude.

“We need to focus on the entire epidemic,” not just a particular drug, to understand what’s driving the continued growth in drug overdose deaths, says coauthor Hawre Jalal, a health policy researcher at the University of Pittsburgh. “Without looking at the entire picture, we might not be hitting the root causes.”

All together

Looking at mortality rates from all drugs together, a clear pattern emerges. This exponential growth curve (dotted line) suggests the overall drug overdose epidemic will continue to grow. 

Overdose deaths due to all drugs, 1979–2016

Synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, currently top the list of drugs that cause the most overdose fatalities in the United States — there were 5.4 of these deaths per 100,000 people, the researchers found based on data from all 50 states. But the rise and fall of different drugs contributing to the overdose epidemic over the past four decades makes it difficult to predict what drug will be deadliest next, the researchers say.

A new drug could emerge to top the list. “I’m worried that we might not be prepared enough for the next one,” Jalal says. “What’s going to happen after fentanyl?”

Pitching in

Death rates from unintentional overdoses from individual drugs have generally risen over the years, but the popularity of some drugs, such as cocaine, has dipped from time to time.

Overdose deaths per selected drugs, 1999–2016

The researchers also identified geographical hot spots in drug overdose deaths in the country over time. For example, heroin-related deaths used to be associated with large cities but have now spread more widely, notably in the Southwest and Northeast. Methamphetamine-related deaths are clustered in the Southwest and up the West Coast, the researchers found, while hot spots for prescription opioid deaths cover large swaths of the country.

Data from the most recent years show that “almost every region in the U.S. is a hot spot for mortality from one or more drugs,” says Kathleen Stewart, a geographic information scientist at the University of Maryland in College Park. The research also highlights changing rural and urban trends, with overall death rates in rural counties increasing in more recent years and becoming less clustered in urban centers, she says.

Too hot

Researchers created maps that compared the hot spots for overdose death rates from individual drugs relative to all drugs over the time period studied. For instance, from 2012 to 2016, prescription opioids hot spots stretched pretty much from coast to coast, while heroin and synthetic opioids (other than methadone) overdose deaths were largely concentrated in the Northeast and hot spots for methamphetamine overdoses popped up predominantly in the Southwest.

Hot spots of fatal overdoses for selected drugs, 2012–2016

H. JALAL ET AL/SCIENCE 2018

It’s not clear what’s fueling the United States’ long-running drug overdose problem. There are a number of social and psychological factors that are probably influencing overdoses, Jalal says, such as widespread despair and the breakdown of communities as well as changes in the way drugs are manufactured.

Understanding how all of the individual components — different drugs, policies, interventions, the licit and illicit markets — at play across the country act together needs investigation, he says.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/drug-overdose-deaths-america-are-rising-exponentially

The Mafia in Australia Pt-1 - Drugs, Murder and Politics (PART 1 of2 )

BORDER OF CHAOS 1 aka Mik

Published on Dec 14, 2015

The Mafia in Australia Pt-2 - **Blood Ties** (Drugs,Murder,Politics)-(PART 2 OF 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQoSYOukB40

BORDER OF CHAOS 1 aka Mik

Published on Dec 15, 2015

This is America on drugs: A visual guide

By Jen Christensen and Sergio Hernandez, CNN

 June 23, 2017

https://edition.cnn.com/2016/09/23/health/heroin-opioid-drug-overdose-deaths-visual-guide/index.html

In modern history, few things have caused such a sharp spike in US deaths as drug overdoses.

CNN reached out to every state for the latest statistics on drug deaths, with half providing data from 2015. It found that drugs deaths continue to rise rapidly in many states.

FATAL ADDICTIONS

Epidemiologists in several states blame the increasing number of drug-related deaths on greater use of heroin and synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl.

"If you look at the cause of death, we just don't normally see increases like this," said Robert Anderson, the chief of the mortality statistics branch at the National Center for Health Care Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

TOP CAUSE OF ACCIDENTAL DEATHS

Drugs are the leading cause of accidental death in this country. Fatal overdoses surpassed shooting deaths and fatal traffic accidents years ago.

For perspective on how fast drug deaths have risen, Anderson said, consider the sharp rise in heart disease in the early half of the 20th century. It took about 50 years for the rate of heart disease to double. It took drug deaths a fraction of that time.

The only thing comparable might be the HIV epidemic when it first reached the United States in the late 1980s, when there were no drugs to treat it. But unlike with HIV, where demonstrators took to the streets to demand help, the drug epidemic often happened out of the spotlight.

That might be because drug deaths have disproportionately hit small towns and rural America, mainly in Appalachia and in the Southwest, far away from the eye of the national media. It became a particularly dangerous problem for middle-age white men and women.

HEROIN'S DEADLY EFFECT

Heroin-related deaths increased 439% from 1999 to 2014. As of 2014, heroin-related deaths had more than tripled in five years and quintupled in 10 years.

In 2014, opioids were involved in 28,647 deaths -- 61% of all US drug overdose deaths -- and 10,574 were related to heroin, in particular. Data from 2014 reflects "two distinct but interrelated trends," the CDC notes, a longterm increase in overdose deaths due to prescription opioids and a surge in illicit opioid overdose deaths, mostly related to heroin.

NATIONWIDE EPIDEMIC

In 2010, West Virginia moved into the top spot on the list of states with the highest number of drug deaths. From 2014 to 2015 alone, the number of deaths in that state increased by 12%. New Hampshire saw a 24% increase in deaths in that same time period.

The state that has struggled the longest is New Mexico. Its Rio Arriba County has the highest number of drug deaths for a single county in the United States, according to data analysis of more than 15 years of records from the CDC and state departments of health. Looking at drug death data from 1999 to 2014, New Mexico most often holds the No. 1 spot for the highest number of deaths.

The sharp uptick in deaths seems to coincide with Americans' increasing use of drugs like illicit fentanyl.

Pop star Prince died of a fentanyl overdose in April. The pain reliever is often given to cancer patients and is more than 100 times as strong as morphine and 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin.

STATE HIT THE HARDEST

Appalachia has struggled with a number of high-profile overdose cases recently.

West Virginia is home to six of the top 20 counties in the country with the largest concentrations of drug-related deaths. Kentucky has the most, with nine counties on that list. Ohio has also been hard-hit by the epidemic.

PROOF Police Departments are CORRUPT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFFiZzsf7Xg

5,628,144 views

Marc Hustle

Published on Dec 30, 2017

Why are more Americans than ever dying from drug  overdoses?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2018/nov/29/usdrug-overdose-epidemic-opioids-crisis-getting-worse

Deaths from drug overdoses in the US reached staggering new heights in 2017, according to newly published figures. Trump called the crisis a “national shame and human tragedy” – but what is fuelling it?

020,00040,00060,000 deaths per year19801990200020102017Combined US deaths in the Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq warsDeadliest year for road traffic accidents in the US (1972)Deadliest year for Aids in the US (1995)70,237

The growing drugs crisis sweeping across the US is deadlier than gun violence, car crashes or Aids, none of which have killed as many Americans in a single year as overdoses did in 2017.

Newly confirmed figures released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show the increasing scale of the crisis.

The drugs epidemic is not confined to a small number of states nor to lower-income areas, but instead has spread across the whole country. While there are concentrations around the midwest, and regional differences in the type of substance, overdose deaths are happening everywhere.

Major cities and rural areas are now in the grip of the crisis

One factor fuelling the problem is that illegal narcotics are more readily available than ever, as drug distribution networks have expanded to rural and suburban areas.

But there are other elements at work. Part of the reason illicit drug traders are able to proliferate so widely across the midwest and other regions is to do with the market there. These areas are home to thousands of people who first developed an addiction to prescription pills.

Roots of the crisis

The US medical sector has historically been a leading consumer of opioids – substances that produce morphine-like effects. In the 1990s opioid-based painkillers became a common remedy for a variety of conditions, such as back pain and arthritis.

Pharmaceutical companies aggressively lobbied doctors to prescribe new formulations such as OxyContin, which they claimed could provide effective pain relief with no real addiction risk even to long-term patients.

The US medical sector ranks second in the world for opioid use

Opioid consumption in the medical retail sector per year and per capita, in morphine equivalents

As a result, medical opioid consumption more than tripled, soaring far beyond levels seen in other countries. Today, the US medical sector ranks second in the world for opioid use behind only Canada, which is struggling with its own overdose crisis.

Frontline services battling the epidemic identify prescription opioids as a key factor underpinning the crisis.

Tiffany Lombardo, Director of Addiction Services at a local mental health board in Butler County, Ohio, says: “There was high access in terms of doctors prescribing opiates and us as a society not having a clear picture of what the impact of that would be long term.”

Across the state border in Pennsylvania, Tim Phillips, who heads a drug overdose task force, also suggests availability has been a key driver: “A lot of it has been diversion from folks who were just selling a surplus, overprescribing, the pharmaceuticals, things like that.”

Why does it keep getting worse?

The crisis has sent federal and local officials scrambling for ways to prevent and treat addiction, and punish those responsible.

States have since filed a ream of lawsuits against opioid makers such as Purdue Pharma, which makes the powerful drug OxyContin. Members of the family that owns Purdue are under criminal investigation.

The drug was reformulated in 2010 to make it more difficult to abuse, and in 2016 the CDC issued guidelines encouraging doctors to restrict the prescription of opioids. After years of increasing, opioid prescriptions have been on the decline.

But efforts to rein in the abuse of prescription drugs have had a limited effect because users have turned to cheap, readily available and dangerous street drugs such as heroin and fentanyl. Overdose deaths from prescription opioids decreased slightly in 2012, but deaths from heroin and synthetic opioids have soared.

Recent research led by Dr Hawre Jalal has brought these shifting dynamics into the spotlight.

While overall mortality rates have trended upwards, specific substances have surged at different times

What is being done?

Donald Trump declared opioid addiction a national emergency in 2017; a year later he signed a bill to promote the development of non-addictive pain medications.

While some local services express gratitude for the federal resources, there is also a call for a greater emphasis on the broader issues of addiction.

“We appreciate the money and the focus on the opioid epidemic but you can’t silo substance abuse. You’ve got to see what the trends are, it’s got to evolve with you, and the state and federal funds sometimes fall behind the actual epidemic as it evolves,” says Scott Rasmus, executive director at the Butler County mental health board.

Meanwhile, overdose outreach teams in the county continue to venture into the streets to stem the crisis. Lombardo, who coordinates the addiction recovery services, wants to reach people with a clear message: “Listen, we’re a community that cares and we want make sure that people get the help they need so they don't end up as a statistic."

Methodology

Overdose death counts sourced from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Overdose distribution maps are based on 160,184 deaths recorded from 2012 to 2016. Per-county death counts were combined with a population density grid.

Death rates for different substances sourced from Jalal et al (2018). The majority of overdose deaths involve multiple substances.

Medical opioid consumption data sourced from the Pain & Policy Studies Group. Data includes consumption of five principal opioids from 1980 to 2015.

Who want's to know where the rifle is that murdered "Bikie" Billy Grierson?

Who want's to know where the rifle is that murdered "Bikie" Billy Grierson?

Terence Mclernon

Published on 29 Apr 2018

SUBSCRIBE 51

Who want's to know where the rifle is that murdered "Bikie" Billy Grierson by "Bent Cop" Don Hancock?? Don Hancock... "A bloody bent cop" now 17 years dead... Donald Leslie Hancock lost his head on his way home from the races!! Landed on his roof... The thing is what happened to the rifle he used to shoot the 'bikie' at Ora Banda????? My information may be right. Maybe wrong!! Maybe right!! Wapol may have found it? May not care too much! I was told by a person of ill repute... but let's face it that's the type of person who would know... just like I found very relevant witnesses who gave "startling new evidence" before the coronial inquiry into Shirley Finn murder namely, Maxwell Healy and Bob Meyers. Read the papers on them... I had given their names to all and indeed Max's affidavit was forwarded by me to all and sundry, including Detective Rainford of Wapol. I insisted to all and more the Bob Meyers must be subpoenaed to tell all... They finally did and Gee Whizz they did have a lot to say. Didn't they...

I wonder if Wapol will bother to contact myself via email at terencemclernon@gmail.com

 Affidavit of Maxwell Raymond Healy:

 https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7-... 

'90 per cent' of the police force knew who killed Shirley Finn - WA Today:

 http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/90-... 

'Feared' WA detective central to Shirley Finn murder investigation dies: https://www.smh.com.au/national/weste... 

Death of former detective stirs hope of truth in unsolved Shirley Finn murder case: https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/death-... 

A police whistleblower in a corrupt political system - Brian Martin:

 http://www.bmartin.cc/dissent/documen... Shirley Finn inquest: Man ‘beaten close to death’ by detective:

https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/crim... 

Gypsy Joker sniper shooting mystery: https://www.smh.com.au/news/national/... 

Cop's daughter denies gun comment: https://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/... 

"The daughter of a retired detective who was the prime suspect in the shooting death of a bikie has denied telling a customer in her father's pub that he had gone to fetch a gun after an argument with a gang. Alison Hancock, daughter of former Perth CIB chief Don Hancock, was working behind the bar in the Ora Banda Historic Inn on October 1, 2000 - the day Gypsy Joker member Billy Grierson was killed by a single rifle shot"

 The Fifth Estate/Chapter 13: The Duck 'Bills' The Fox:

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  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7P7q...

Drugs Inc. - Detroit Halloween (Documentary)

Perth Police corruption at Crown Casino. Umit Gungor Peter Ross.

PC Allan Ball PC Casey Kirstein

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpckbSiYw6Y

Innocentweddingguest

Published on Jul 7, 2016

You can help stop this happening again. Please email: Still no arrest? www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgIU3OW_VCo

To: Commissioner McKechnie info@ccc.wa.gov.au

Premier McGowan wa-government@dpc.wa.gov.au Or better still, email them and tell them what you think! Thanks!

Macintyre's Underworld - Crime Documentary! Paul Ferris VENDETTA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziZl2lRxq50

SimpleDegree

Published on Aug 5, 2017 

More will be uploaded shortly :) . thanks for watching

AMERICAS MOST EVIL GANGSTERS OG MACK EPISODE

John Bottone

Published on Oct 9, 2018

AMERICAS MOST EVIL GANGSTERS OG MACK EPISODE

Jordan Maxwell- "Christianity is not what people think it is

Truth Be Told Radio

Published on Mar 28, 2017 

Truth Be Told is joined by Legendary Researcher Jordan Maxwell Live at the Los Angeles Hilton Hotel.

He discusses his new projects and the true meanings of ancient religions. Please check Out his website at: jordanmaxwellshow.com

 Follow us at TruthBeToldWebTV.com / UBNRADIO.COM / iHeart / iTunes @OnAirWithTony 

@TheRealDeanRyan 

AUSTRALIAN DRUGLORDS S1 • E10  

Drug Lords - Charlotte Lindstrom | Full Documentary | True Crime

Reel Truth Crime - True Crime

Published on Jun 29, 2018  

Drug Lords is a series that blows the lid off Australia's biggest-ever Class A Drug Busts.

With exclusive, no-holds-barred and unprecedented access to the NSW Police Drug Squad's criminal archive, Drug Lords provides a pacy inside view of key kingpin takedowns over the past five years. With actual surveillance footage, covert listening devices, secret phone taps and more.

 Subscribe here for more true crime documentaries: https://www.youtube.comhttps://www.yo...  

HEROIN CITY USA - THIS IS AMERICA - ZOMBIE LAND

THE REAL SKID ROW - Part 1: IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU Human Crisis happening right in our own backyard Worst Neighborhood in Los Angeles The Real Skid Row - Heroin City USA Los Angeles: 58,000 homeless people wandering the streets like zombies, fighting for survival! Drugs and killings are rampant - what is the solution? Please Like Comment & Share -Your opinion matters! ..this is the real life look at the people of Skid Row. Los Angeles California Skid Row - the story of Tent Town. An in depth look at the nation's drug problem and emotional stories from real people living on Skid Row. People forced into homelessness - but what about those who choose this lifestyle? What about those who choose to do drugs? What about the mentally ill? It’s all here in the REAL SKID ROW A film by Chad Howard *Thank you for the many comments & bringing this heartbreaking situation to light - a few answers to Q's I've been getting lately 1. How come the camera so close? Because it was so loud down there I couldn't hear them. 2. Why did I make the video? Because I was down there meeting with a substance abuse counselor about a friend and couldn't believe what I was seeing! I whipped out my phone & just started recording. I felt compelled to capture what what happening and let some of these people tell their story. Nothing was planned or scripted. 3. Was it dangerous? Absolutely! I almost got jumped numerous times but was able to talk my way out of it and one time literally had to run & escape. (no joke) 4. Have I been in contact with any of them since? No, they all have my contact info but have never reached out. I have tried to call some of them with no luck. I don't know if they are alive or dead, in prison or if they ever made it out of Skid Row. 5. What's up with the money stack clip? Ha, I was kidding around, that's me at the bank and not sure why I threw it in - but sort of a comparison to the street life he was describing and what it's like to have a real job & bank account & responsibilities (like me) ... I never thought the vid would take off like it is or I would have made it nicer, better camera work, audio, editing, etc. But apparently people want to see it and I know longer have the original files so it is what it is. 6. Again, thank you for your support - please refrain from attacking each other in the comments, avoid hate speech and racism, this affects everyone, all ages, colors & backgrounds. IT's a sad scary place down there and my opinion is that cops & government are not doing enough to stop the drugs - they could declare war on those dealers and stamp them out, second is the welfare system is way too loose - they are giving away food & money and allowing people to trade it for drugs. Free housing turns into dope spots. If they get free handouts & housing then they must stay clean & test clean. If you keep doing the drugs then cut them off. Tough love. Please keep watching, liking, 

CALVIN SKY

Published on Jul 25, 2016

Did Rats Start the Drug War? | Freethink Wrong

Freethink

Published on Jan 11, 2018

Much of our shared understanding about drugs and addiction came from a series of studies done in the 1950s and 60s on lab rats. But a skeptical researcher has designed his own study that involves, well... essentially an amusement park for rats, and the surprising results may show that everything we think we know about addiction is all… wrong. For more stories profiling pioneers of science and tech innovation, subscribe to Freethink at https://www.youtube.com/freethinkmedia And follow Freethink across other platforms here: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freethinkmedia Twitter: https://twitter.com/freethinkmedia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freethinkmedia Website: http://www.freethinkmedia.com

The Rise of Fentanyl: Drug Addiction On The I-95 – Two Years On

BBC Three

Published on Oct 24, 2018

Drug overdose is now the main cause of death for Americans under the age of 50, they are more likely to die from a drug overdose than a car accident or gun. More than 70,000 people died from overdoses last year as opioids and illegal fentanyl – which is up to 50 times stronger than heroin – unleashed the worst public health crisis in American history. Two years ago, BBC News reported on the growing problem of opioid addiction in the US, now we return to find out what happened to the people we met along our journey down the notorious I-95, the interstate that runs from Florida to Maine, and to see what has become of their struggle against addiction. If you, or someone you know, have been affected by addiction, the following organisations may be able to help.: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/artic...

Life After 40 Years In Prison...

AfterPrisonShow

Published on Aug 10, 2018

In this video, we introduce you to Danny. A man who served 40 years in prison through 2 separate prison sentences. The first being 24 years, then after 11 months of freedom would end up getting locked up again for 16 years. This is the first video of a multi video series titled " Life After 40 Years In Prison." Hope you enjoy. Get your AfterPrisonShow Merch! http://bit.ly/APSMerch Show some love and Sub to the channel..!!! Join the Discord! https://discord.gg/afterprisonshow Support the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/afterprisonshow The Chair Used: https://bit.ly/Secret-Lab Why I went to prison FULL STORY: https://youtu.be/7ECgj1NzG_8 WRITE TO AFTERPRISONSHOW: Po Box 6113 Chesapeake Va. 23323 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afterprison Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joepguerrero/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoePGuerrero Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/add/afterpri... PSN: joepguerrero For business inquiries: joepguerrero2@gmail.com

Australian Drug Lords

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL7e5JtnHjg

Reel Truth Crime - True Crime

Published on Jun 29, 2018

Drug Lords is a series that blows the lid off Australia's biggest-ever Class A Drug Busts. With exclusive, no-holds-barred and unprecedented access to the NSW Police Drug Squad's criminal archive, Drug Lords provides a pacy inside view of key kingpin takedowns over the past five years. With actual surveillance footage, covert listening devices, secret phone taps and more. Subscribe here for more true crime documentaries: https://www.youtube.comhttps://www.yo...