Overshadowed by opioids, meth is back with a vengeance

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Overshadowed by opioids, meth is back with a vengeance

 
A surge in hospitalizations and deaths “is just totally off the radar,” said one addiction researcher. “Nobody is paying attention.”
Nov. 27, 2018 / 2:51 PM EST
By Anna Gorman, Kaiser Health News

The number of people hospitalized because of amphetamine use is skyrocketing in the United States, but the resurgence of the drug has largely been overshadowed by the nation’s intense focus on opioids.

Amphetamine-related hospitalizations jumped by about 245 percent from 2008 to 2015, according to a study published last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association. That dwarfs the rise in hospitalizations from other drugs, such as opioids, which were up by about 46 percent. The most significant increases were in Western states.

There is not a day that goes by that I don’t see someone acutely intoxicated on methamphetamine.”

The surge in hospitalizations and deaths due to amphetamines “is just totally off the radar,” said Jane Maxwell, an addiction researcher. “Nobody is paying attention.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/overshadowed-opioids-meth-back-vengeance-n940701