Deaths From Illicit Opioids Rise Dramatically While Deaths From Prescription Opioids Fall

Deaths involving illicit opioids, stimulants (such as methamphetamine), heroin, and cocaine rose dramatically between 2015 and the end of 2019, according to areport released Monday by the AMA ’s Opioid Task Force.The report also showed a 37.1% decrease in opioid prescribing; wider use of state Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs; and increasing numbers of doctors trained to prescribe buprenorphine (a medication used for treating opioid use disorder).The trends indicate that the nature of the nation ’s drug overdose crisis has changed. “The nation’s drug overdose epidemic is now being driven predominantly by highly potent illicit fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine, although mortality involving prescription opioids remains a top concern,” Patrice A. Harris, M.D., M.A., chair of the AMA Opioid Task Force, said in apress release. Harris is a psychiatrist and immediate past president of the AMA.Harris emphasized the importance of naloxone, a drug that can be used to reverse an opioid overdose in an emergency. “If it weren’t for naloxone, there likely would be tens of thousands additional deaths,” she said.Drawing on statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the AMA reported that from 2015 to 2019, deaths involving illicitly manufactured fentanyl and fentanyl analogs increased from 5,766 to 36,509; deaths involving stimulants increased from 4,402 to 16,279; deaths involving cocaine increased from 5,496 to 15,974; and deaths involv...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: AMA AMA Opioid Task Force buprenorphine CDC cocaine fentanyl heroin medication-assisted treatment mental health parity opioid use disorder opioids Patrice Harris stimulants Source Type: research