As the War on Drugs Relentlessly Grinds On, Overdose Deaths Relentlessly Mount

Jeffrey A. SingerWhen the Centers for Disease Control and Preventionannounced last January that drug overdoses in 2018 declined by 4.1 percent –from 70,237 in 2017 to 67,367 in 2018 –many in thepress took that as a sign of possible progress in America ’s longest war, the war on drugs. However, a deeper look at the data painted a very different picture.The CDC report stated:The age ‐​adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone, which include drugs such as fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, and tramadol, increased from 0.3 per 100,000 standard population in 1999 to 1.0 in 2013, 1.8 in 2014, 3.1 in 2015, 6.2 in 2016, 9.0 in 2017, and 9.9 in 2018. The rate of drug overdose deaths involving heroin increased from 0.7 in 1999 to 1.0 in 2010, then increased to 4.9 in 2016 and 2017. The rate in 2018 (4.7) was lower than in 2017. The rate of drug overdose deaths involving natural and semisynthetic opioids, which include drugs such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, increased from 1.0 in 1999 to 3.1 in 2009, then increased to 4.4 in 2016 and 2017. The rate in 2018 (3.8) was lower than in 2017 … The age‐​adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths involving cocaine increased from 1.4 per 100,000 standard population in 1999 to 2.5 in 2006, then decreased to 1.3 in 2010 and 1.5 in 2011. From 2012 through 2018, the rate increased on average by 27%...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs