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Serious business: The opioid epidemic - it's on the rise in the United States
Posted on 3/16/16 at 7:51 am
Posted on 3/16/16 at 7:51 am
It's seriously on the rise in the U.S. Just a couple of weeks ago I have a good friend who got into a gunfight with a young, white, heroin/opioid addict - was forced to shoot him ... dead. Tragic story because they had known the kid since he was a child ... broke into their house, middle of the night after beating-up his girlfriend, was armed ... bang. Now he's dead. Came from a very affluent family in the Augusta area.
I've got another close friend, investment broker in NYC, ultra wealthy. His son is hooked and no matter how hard they've tried they cannot turn him around. No amount of money thrown at the problem, no amount of support, seems to be able to beat the problem and it is probably not going to end well. Even my buddy, his Dad, has admitted this is probably not going to end well. When on the drugs, he's done some really really bad things.
9 recently released graphs that tell the story. They're doing a piece on it this morning on the CSPAN, Washington Journal. Thought it might be worth mentioning here.
Care to speculate on why this is happening? Why now? What's changed?
These 9 graphs, if you recognize what you are seeing, are shocking.
Guess where it is coming from ...
https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2015/08/19/the-heroin-epidemic-in-9-graphs
This graph ... look at how the first time drug use progresses with age from 12-49.
This one is very telling ...
And now, by state:
... and all of that indicates one thing. Early deaths. Often very very early in the form of overdoses.
I've got another close friend, investment broker in NYC, ultra wealthy. His son is hooked and no matter how hard they've tried they cannot turn him around. No amount of money thrown at the problem, no amount of support, seems to be able to beat the problem and it is probably not going to end well. Even my buddy, his Dad, has admitted this is probably not going to end well. When on the drugs, he's done some really really bad things.
9 recently released graphs that tell the story. They're doing a piece on it this morning on the CSPAN, Washington Journal. Thought it might be worth mentioning here.
Care to speculate on why this is happening? Why now? What's changed?
These 9 graphs, if you recognize what you are seeing, are shocking.
Guess where it is coming from ...
https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2015/08/19/the-heroin-epidemic-in-9-graphs
This graph ... look at how the first time drug use progresses with age from 12-49.
This one is very telling ...
And now, by state:
... and all of that indicates one thing. Early deaths. Often very very early in the form of overdoses.
16
Posted on 3/16/16 at 8:01 am to scrooster
20/20 did a full hour on this last Friday night. Very sobering (no pun intended) show.
They were focused on New Hampshire and showed a young guy (early-mid 20s) who had been a heroin addict for about a year, after getting addicted to pain pills. His girlfriend/baby momma was in rehab for the same thing. He finally got into a treatment program, but left after 3 days because the program didn't have the medications to help with the withdrawal. About a week later he was dead of an overdose.
I think the biggest issue, and this was mentioned in the ABC report, is that doctors are prescribing super strong opioid pain medications as a first choice these days and these lead to addiction, and then lead to heroin because it is cheaper/easer to get.
If doctors would start prescribing less powerful pain meds to begin with and then kick the strength up only as needed, we might slow this down a bit.
They were focused on New Hampshire and showed a young guy (early-mid 20s) who had been a heroin addict for about a year, after getting addicted to pain pills. His girlfriend/baby momma was in rehab for the same thing. He finally got into a treatment program, but left after 3 days because the program didn't have the medications to help with the withdrawal. About a week later he was dead of an overdose.
I think the biggest issue, and this was mentioned in the ABC report, is that doctors are prescribing super strong opioid pain medications as a first choice these days and these lead to addiction, and then lead to heroin because it is cheaper/easer to get.
If doctors would start prescribing less powerful pain meds to begin with and then kick the strength up only as needed, we might slow this down a bit.
Posted on 3/16/16 at 8:06 am to scrooster
These things always crack me up. We've had a heroin problem for decades, but now that it's hitting the predominantly white suburban communities it's an epidemic. But yes, the numbers are increasing and it's because of the proliferation of opioid painkillers. People get hooked on them, can't find them, and turn to heroin, which ironically is often times a lot cheaper than the painkillers.
Read a few months ago that the rate of opioid painkiller prescriptions has increased exponentially over the past 15-20 years. I forget the exact number but it was somewhere around 200 or 300%.
Read a few months ago that the rate of opioid painkiller prescriptions has increased exponentially over the past 15-20 years. I forget the exact number but it was somewhere around 200 or 300%.
Posted on 3/16/16 at 8:08 am to scrooster
I am part of GA's 91! Yay me!
Posted on 3/16/16 at 8:24 am to PJinAtl
quote:
I think the biggest issue, and this was mentioned in the ABC report, is that doctors are prescribing super strong opioid pain medications as a first choice these days and these lead to addiction, and then lead to heroin because it is cheaper/easer to get.
If doctors would start prescribing less poIMOwerful pain meds to begin with and then kick the strength up only as needed, we might slow this down a bit.
That's certainly a big component, if for no other reason than the fact that they're prescribed so often that they're readily available.
IMO, there's a second factor that can't be overlooked and that's the relatively successful battle that's been waged against meth. Most (maybe all?) states now have some form of limits and tracking for Pseudoephedrine purchases. These measures have been highly effective in reducing large scale local cooking. Meth's a lot harder to get/make so the addicts turn somewhere else - very often the 'you can get them anywhere' opioid pain meds and then the big H.
It is interesting/weird how cyclical these drug crazes can be. I've been a volunteer EMT/Firefighter since 1998. When I first started, we never saw meth in my area but opioid overdoses (mostly Oxycontin) were relatively common. Around 10-12 years ago, it changed to meth. Had guys going Mike Tyson on telephone poles and getting burned in lab explosions. The Narcan never came out of the drug box. Now we're back to opioids. I guess, in a nutshell, addicts gonna addict.
This post was edited on 3/16/16 at 10:48 am
Posted on 3/16/16 at 8:28 am to scrooster
Legalize it all. Let Darwin do his thing.
Posted on 3/16/16 at 8:30 am to PrivatePublic
quote:
Legalize it all. Let Darwin do his thing.
Darwin does his thing whether it is legal or not.
Posted on 3/16/16 at 8:33 am to PrivatePublic
quote:
Legalize it all. Let Darwin do his thing.
The problem with that is ... we never let Darwin do his thing. We quit doing that long ago.
Now we pay drug addicts to breed - then we take care of them and pay the next generation of drug addicts to breed.
More to the point, as I tried to illustrate in my OP, drug addicts, if they are cut off from the funding to support their addiction, more often than not turn to violence and crime in an effort to feed their habit.
That opens-up a whole'nuther can of worms.
Posted on 3/16/16 at 8:39 am to scrooster
This problem falls on Dr's, the FDA, and DEA. The environment they created over the last 10-15 years smfh. After years of no action we pull the rug out on the pill addicts, they turn to street heroin instead. The problem is no worse, it just has a different set of clothes on.
Posted on 3/16/16 at 8:45 am to LewDawg
quote:
I am part of GA's 91! Yay me!
But the average is considered about ~1 pain killer prescription per person?? Am I reading that correctly?
Posted on 3/16/16 at 9:13 am to Pitch To Johnny
I think so. People like me throw off the number a bit I bet. I have two prescriptions.
Posted on 3/16/16 at 9:19 am to scrooster
I don't get the appeal. I had to have Percocet after a surgery and it didn't even take away the pain. It certainly didn't get me high.
This post was edited on 3/16/16 at 9:20 am
Posted on 3/16/16 at 9:24 am to The Spleen
quote:
We've had a heroin problem for decades, but now that it's hitting the predominantly white suburban communities it's an epidemic
The heroin problem you say existed for decades wasn't a blip on the drug radar (in relative terms). There just weren't that many users or overdoses. When it moved into the suburbs is when usage and deaths shot up by 600% in just a decade. It is actually an epidemic now.
Your political agenda makes you blind to many things, buddy.
ETA - Those graphs don't match up exactly with numbers from the NIH.
This post was edited on 3/16/16 at 9:33 am
Posted on 3/16/16 at 10:29 am to scrooster
quote:
Care to speculate on why this is happening? Why now? What's changed?
In addition to what others have said, powerful painkillers like oxycontin (hillbilly heroin) are/were a direct link to this problem. The overwhelming abundance of really strong dosages made it easy for anyone to get their hands on and they didn't have to travel to the ghettos to get these pills. Every neighborhood probably has someone taking stuff like this. And it was more accepted in the most circles than heroin.
Now that the supply is drying up and there is more of a spotlight on doctors, heroin is the choice. I was watching something last week about how now drug cartels in mexico have switched to growing poppy plants because that is what is the most profitable right now.
Posted on 3/16/16 at 10:34 am to scrooster
quote:
Care to speculate on why this is happening? Why now? What's changed?
Just think back to the CIA and the Contras, now think about the CIA and Afghanistan....
Posted on 3/16/16 at 10:54 am to scrooster
The Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati metropolitan area is the epicenter of the heroin epidemic. When the Kentucky trail to Florida pain clinics was cut, prescription users switched to heroin, seemingly overnight.
OxyContin was extremely familiar in Eastern Kentucky and was the drug that Raylan Givens battled against in Justified. As the series ended, Detroit was the source of heroin that was being pipelined to Eastern Kentucky, but the real life point of origin is Cincinnati.
OxyContin was extremely familiar in Eastern Kentucky and was the drug that Raylan Givens battled against in Justified. As the series ended, Detroit was the source of heroin that was being pipelined to Eastern Kentucky, but the real life point of origin is Cincinnati.
Posted on 3/16/16 at 11:03 am to NYCAuburn
quote:
Just think back to the CIA and the Contras, now think about the CIA and Afghanistan....
That is an amazing coincidence, isn't it?
Posted on 3/16/16 at 11:04 am to scrooster
i had a good friend of my OD from heroin about a month ago. he had received help about 3 years ago and we all thought he was still clean. apparently he had been sneaking around for about a month without any of us (his main group of friends) knowing about it. got a call around 12:30 AM from a friend who let me know what happen. its tragic on every level with every family involved. really wish i had the answers to solve it.
As somebody who has dabbled in their share of drugs and attended 100's of concerts and festivals, i will never understand heroin. i guess i have never been in a situation where i felt compelled to shoot something in my arm. it just doesnt make sense, especially with the knowledge we have readily available.
As somebody who has dabbled in their share of drugs and attended 100's of concerts and festivals, i will never understand heroin. i guess i have never been in a situation where i felt compelled to shoot something in my arm. it just doesnt make sense, especially with the knowledge we have readily available.
Posted on 3/16/16 at 11:22 am to bamarep
quote:
That is an amazing coincidence, isn't it?
Well, except for the fact that opium addictions/epidemics have been happening since before the Civil War. Post war, Opium dens were a big thing. Heck, Wyatt Earp's wife died from an opium OD.
Posted on 3/16/16 at 11:27 am to JustGetItRight
quote:
Well, except for the fact that opium addictions/epidemics have been happening since before the Civil War
So cocaine addiction did not happen before the 80's?
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