‘All It Takes Is One Bad Batch Of Fentanyl’: Synthetic Opioids Drive Double-Digit Increase In Fatal Overdoses In U.S.
The overall numbers are grim -- 72,000 Americans died from a fatal overdose last year. But deaths in some states that had already adjusted to the addition of more deadly, synthetic opioids to the drug supply overdoses are going down.
The New York Times:
Bleak New Estimates In Drug Epidemic: A Record 72,000 Overdose Deaths In 2017
Drug overdoses killed about 72,000 Americans last year, a record number that reflects a rise of around 10 percent, according to new preliminary estimates from the Centers for Disease Control. The death toll is higher than the peak yearly death totals from H.I.V., car crashes or gun deaths.
Analysts pointed to two major reasons for the increase: A growing number of Americans are using opioids, and drugs are becoming more deadly. It is the second factor that most likely explains the bulk of the increased number of overdoses last year. (Sanger-Katz, 8/15)
The Hill:
CDC: Drug Overdoses Hit New Record
More than 40,000 people died from opioid overdoses last year, and nearly 30,000 people died from overdoses of synthetic opioids, like fentanyl. The overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids rose sharply from 2016, while deaths from heroin, prescription opioid pills and methadone fell, the CDC said. (Weixel, 8/15)
The Washington Post:
Fentanyl Use Drove Drug Overdose Deaths To A Record High In 2017, CDC Estimates
The increase was driven primarily by a continued surge in deaths involving synthetic opioids, a category that includes fentanyl. There were nearly 30,000 deaths involving those drugs in 2017, according to the preliminary data, an increase of more than 9,000 over the prior year. Deaths involving cocaine also shot up significantly, putting the stimulant on par with drugs such as heroin and the category of natural opiates that includes painkillers such as oxycodone and hydrocodone. One potential spot of good news is that deaths involving those latter two drug categories appear to have flattened out, suggesting the possibility that opiate mortality may be at or nearing its peak. (Ingraham, 8/15)
In other news on the crisis —
The Washington Post:
New Haven Mass Overdose: More Than 70 People Hospitalized For K2 In A Single Day
Hour after hour, people kept dropping. Sirens blared. There were so many overdoses — people passed out, vomiting, convulsing — that emergency workers could hardly sprint fast enough to keep up. “Even while we were trying to return people to service, they were passing victims on the ground,” Fire Chief John Alston told reporters. Over the course of 24 hours in New Haven, Conn., Wednesday, more than 70 people overdosed on what authorities believe to be synthetic marijuana, also known as K2 or spice. Dozens of those overdoses took place on the New Haven Green, a historic downtown park bordering the Yale University campus. (Schmidt, 8/16)
The New York Times:
Laced K2 Tied To Dozens Of Drug Overdoses In New Haven
A park in the shadow of Yale’s Old Campus became the scene of a mass overdose on Wednesday as ambulance crews rushed from person to person, desperately treating dozens of semiconscious and disoriented drug users in New Haven. More than 70 people overdosed in the city during a 24-hour span, beginning Tuesday evening, and the authorities said they suspect a virulent batch of synthetic marijuana, possibly laced with an opioid, was the cause. (Linton, 8/16)
New Hampshire Public Radio:
N.H. Plots New Approach To Addiction, Relying On Millions More In Federal Funds
Governor Chris Sununu and state Health Commissioner Jeff Meyers on Wednesday announced a major overhaul of New Hampshire's addiction treatment infrastructure. The state will funnel tens of millions in newly available federal funds into a coordinated system of care that tracks patients for months, if not years, through their recovery. (Greene, 8/15)
Arizona Republic:
Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Arizona Commits $10 Million To Opioid Crisis
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona announced Tuesday that it will be investing $10 million over the next three years in an initiative to help reduce opioid misuse in the state. At least two people per day have died of an opioid overdose in Arizona since June 15, 2017, when the state began collecting opioid data. (Innes, 8/15)
