Tox on the Web: the resurgence of heroin abuse, and more

  The death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman last week prompted a slew of articles about the related problems of prescription opioid abuse and heroin addiction. In the Washington Post, Joel Achenbach points out that despite the recent spike in deaths from heroin overdose, recent data indicated that “[p]rescription opioids are killing Americans at more than five times the rate that heroin is.” Achenbach also notes that use of heroin is increasing as individuals addicted to opioid pain relievers turn to the cheaper and more available street drug.  CBCNews reported on a similar trend in Canada (clip above). In a New York Times op-ed piece, medical toxicologist Robert S. Hoffman argues that increased access to injectable or intranasal naloxone could prevent many opiate deaths. Also this week, the New York Post reported that police closed down a pill-mill operation in the Bronx that had written prescriptions for 5 million oxycodone pills, with a (probably inflated) street value of $500 million. More on butane honey oil (aka “wax” or “dab”): In a must-read story, the Los Angeles Times describes horrendous injuries that can result from explosions in home labs manufacturing butane hash oil, an extremely potent form of THC. According to the article, the burn center at UC-Davis treated 27 victims of such explosions in 2013, and have seen 6 in the last 2 weeks alone. For TPR‘s take on this phenomenon, click here. (Tip o’ the Ha...
Source: The Poison Review - Category: Toxicology Authors: Tags: Medical azodiacarbonamide buprenorphine butane oil cannabis dab giant hornet hash oil helium heroin overdose hyperthermia marijuana methadone naloxone opiate pain relievers oxycodone philip seymour hoffman serotonin syndr Source Type: news