Drug OD Deaths Have Nearly Tripled Since 1999: CDC

[rangerrebew]

Drug OD Deaths Have Nearly Tripled Since 1999: CDC
Whites, middle-aged adults hardest hit, new report finds
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Friday, February 24, 2017

FRIDAY, Feb. 24, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Drug overdose deaths have nearly tripled in the United States since 1999, with whites and middle-aged Americans bearing much of the brunt, a new government report shows.

More than 16 out of every 100,000 Americans died of a drug overdose in 2015, compared to just over 6 in 1999, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.

Heroin and other opioids accounted for about half of these deaths, a reflection of the damage wrought by the prescription painkiller epidemic this decade, said Dr. Edwin Salsitz, an addiction medicine specialist.

https://medlineplus.gov/news/fullstory_163775.html

[Smokin Joe]

Fentanyl laced heroin is a real problem, even out here in the boonies.

Naloxone and some on the ball EMS and police have saved a few from a dirtnap, even in the relatively small towns out here.

One case I know of was riding with a couple of women, they opened the door and let him fall out of the pickup in a convenience store parking lot, and left. The convenience store clerk ran out and checked for a pulse, found none, and administered CPR until the police unit arrived. The victim got a shot of Naloxone and they continued CPR until EMS arrived. The kid had coded, but made it to the ER still ticking and was released from the hospital the next day (had no other drugs or paraphernalia on him). Unfortunately, his chances of doing it again are really good.