The story’s behind the WaPo paywall, but if you hit the ‘Esc’ key repeatedly as it loads, you can usually grab the page.
Opioid deaths continued to surge in 2015, surpassing 30,000 for the first time in recent history, according to CDC data released Thursday.
That marks an increase of nearly 5,000 deaths from 2014. Deaths involving powerful synthetic opiates, like fentanyl, rose by nearly 75 percent from 2014 to 2015.
Heroin deaths spiked too, rising by more than 2,000 cases. For the first time since at least the late 1990s, there were more deaths due to heroin than to traditional opioid painkillers, like hydrocodone and oxycodone.
“The epidemic of deaths involving opioids continues to worsen,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden in a statement. “Prescription opioid misuse and use of heroin and illicitly manufactured fentanyl are intertwined and deeply troubling problems.”
In the CDC’s opioid death data, deaths may involve more than one individual drug category, so numbers in the chart above aren’t mutually exclusive. Many opioid fatalities involve a combination of drugs, often multiple types of opioids, or opioids in conjunction with other sedative substances like alcohol.
In a grim milestone, more people died from heroin-related causes than from gun homicides in 2015. As recently as 2007, gun homicides outnumbered heroin deaths by more than 5 to 1.
Who cares if folk OD from heroin?
Most of the gun deaths are criminals killing criminals and most of the drug deaths are stupid people killing themselves. This is a solution, not a problem.
I agree.
I look forward to the hand-wringers asking “How would you feel if a loved one died from heroin abuse?” The correct answer to that question is “Eff off.”
About 300 people died from opiates in Alberta last year. Another 300 people are going to buy unknown opiates from unknown sources and die this year. Stupid, stupid, stupid people. I guess the world is a better place with them gone.
Alternate way to get around the WaPo paywall (at least on Firefox): right click on the link, and when the flying menu pops up, select “Open Link in New Private Window.” Ta-da!
It is Darwin at work, or being verified yet again: Survival of the fittest, extinction of the least fit.
…and in Google Chrome:
–> right click and select “open in incognito window”
Thanks, scar!
–Bad News
thanks Garth, slick work-around
Drug related deaths began to climb when MrZero became president…. coincidence?
Attitudes towards the deaths of addicts — whatever, that is not really the issue.
The issue is that fentanyl and more dangerous variants are widely available and could get into our food supply.
Calgary police recently said that they had intercepted a shipment that contained enough of this stuff to kill everybody in Canada.
Now I realize this is complex and just because you have such a supply in a basement and even the intent to harm people, it’s not that simple to harm that many people.
However, the urge to harm is unlimited as we’ve seen numerous times in the recent past. I am not talking about addicts here, I am talking about the general public.
We need to concentrate on this. Phoney scams like globull swarming or hate crimes against genders that only existed since lunch time aside, this is a real threat.
By the way, just an aside here, our elites are certifiable lunatics. A conference to address climate change? These talking heads are going to change the weather?
They must be on heroin.
Well at least people will no longer have to cling to their guns and bibles, although needles and their bibles just doesn’t sound as dramatic. Doubt if the anti gun nuts will have much to say about this turn of events. It’s a Democrat thing and drug use has never been much of a issue with them,…unless you place it in the victim category.
The issue is that fentanyl and more dangerous variants are widely available and could get into our food supply.
What’s your theory on how that could happen, and how likely?
Obviously, the only answer to non-state approved use of opiods is to ban all non-state approved ownership of opiods. Same goes for guns. We shall all be happy living under that state boot, er, I mean umbrella.
Poppies = murder.
No, if they were on heroin we’d be better off,as they’d sit around and do nothing,which is way less harmful than any action.
As to who cares if smack addicts OD, #1: Senator Larry Campbell,and his entire army of feel-good-caring SJW’s,who must not “care” much as the situation never changes.
The peddler of oxycontin is expanding into the Canadian cannibis market.
http://canadianlandowneralliance.blogspot.ca/2016/12/snake-oil-saleman.html
So the guy is gonna make some money selling dope. Big deal. What has that got to do with property rights?
The underlying cause of the problem is the laws that make drugs illegal. Making something illegal has never stopped or even significantly reduced the supply. The illegality only ensures that the substance will be supplied by criminals making exorbitant profit which gives them the resources to buy politicians to keep it illegal.
A sensible solution would be for Canada to buy opium product from Afghan farmers, refine it into morphine and give it to registered addicts for free. Use a jet gun injector and give them as much as they want. Those who were going to OD anyway will do it sooner and make space in the health care queue for people who can be healed. Most will get an opportunity to get out of a life of crime and take advantage of programs to get their lives back on track.
This will also drastically reduce the obscene profits that make drug lords rich. Of course that’s the real reason the problem will never be solved. The WoD is immensely profitable for lots of people on both sides of the law.
Opium poppies are very easy to grow domestically. I see no reason to supply savages with money in return for supplying the domestic market. France is the biggest producer of opiods in the world.
Buying their opium would be smarter than trying to destroy it.
Thing are really bad in Philly. Yesterday’s Inquirer headline:
“Medical examiner: Philly overdose surge may have killed 35 over 5 days”
I’m not Peter, but I read an article on Global’s website detailing the concern that carfentanil can be weaponized. They pointed to the Moscow theatre siege in 2002, where over 100 civilians died when the FSB used it (in gaseous form) to incapacitate the terrorists. Not overly trusting the media, I did some more reading, and apparently it is a more widespread concern amongst anti-terror experts. So, a gas attack using it is a concern- and there are probably other ways that dirtbags would think of using it.
There’s going to be a whole host of issues our pathetic fake news media is going to demand Trump address but of course never once dared demand JugEars McFoodstamp address while he was in office. Or as Iowahawk put it the other day, when Mother Jones ran an article trying to somehow tie Trump to homelessness:
“The 8-year Halley’s Comet of concern journalism reappears”
The fallacy that making drugs legal will take care of the problem is ridiculous on its face. Regardless of how the government tries to regulate and tax it, organized crime will always find a way to make it better and cheaper and skim off the “taxes” for themselves. And there is the added benefit that organized crime can operate much more in the open. Even the legal pot pushers in Colorado have admitted as much.
To paraphrase Alice Cooper ‘dead addicts can take care of themselves’ It’s much cheaper to give them free drugs. It’s not like they’re productive people that need to be saved so they can breed more.
“Regardless of how the government tries to regulate and tax it, border “nations” will always find a way to make it better and cheaper and skim off the “taxes” for themselves.”
As I said, due to government regulations, it is illegal to secure a domestic supply. Its easier to get opium from poppies than to grow marijuana.
The cigarette market is dominated by the black market.
#1. – Give taxpaying, law-abiding Canadians the right to defend themselves and their families with proper Concealed Carry, Stand Your Ground, and Castle Laws.
#2. – Refuse narcotic abuse related medical treatments with Socialized Health Care. Out of pocket – or – insurance payments only.
#3. – Refuse welfare for individuals tested positive for non-prescription narcotics.
#4. – Increase penalties for drug related crimes, and crimes while under the influence.
#5. – Secure our open borders, and increase foreign gang task forces.
#6. – Jail then Deport first generation immigrants for any crimes.
#7. – Refuse welfare to all landed immigrants until they have paid into the system for a minimum of 5 years.
#8. – Enforce Labor Laws disallowing individuals to work under the influence of any substance in the public workplace, with immediate termination and possible jail sentences. Including members of Parliament and the public MSM.
After which we should all be comfortable allowing persons to legally grow their own marijuana for personal & medical consumption.
All the violence involved in black market cigarettes is from the police, who may seize one’s car, home, etc, if found in possession of black market smokes.
UnoMe >
“We don’t need to negotiate with you when we can just bury you.”
I’d love you to try. What’s your name, and where do you live maybe we can set you up with an opportunity?
Colorado – LOL!
“Strapped towns in southeast Colorado struggle to fight heroin’s spread”
http://www.denverpost.com/2016/08/20/heroin-southeast-colorado/
“Facing surge in opioid abuse and overdose deaths, Colorado distributes 2,500 doses of Narcan”
http://www.denverpost.com/2016/09/19/opioid-abuse-overdose-death-surge-narcan/
“Colorado Drug Overdoses Up In Almost Every County And Ahead Of National Average”
http://www.cpr.org/news/story/colorado-drug-overdoses-almost-every-county-and-ahead-national-average
This is truly a Darwinian situation. It is inexplicable to me.
Having to undergo five surgeries during a two-year period, I had drawers of unused hydrocodone that have since been discarded. While using it as directed after the initial surgery, the physical side effects and mental suppression experienced during a week’s use led me to take just one tablet the evening of the return home from hospital and cold turkey from there. Dealing with the pain was much easier than dealing with the drug.