The CDC has released new figures on how many drug overdose deaths were reported in 2014. There were 47,055 deaths related to painkillers, cocaine and heroin last year. 28,647 alone were associated with opioids. These are commonly found in prescription painkillers.
Legal or Not, Painkillers Were the Top Kind of Drug Overdose Death Reported
According to the report, more people die per year from drug-related overdoses than they do in traffic accidents. Less than 33,000 deaths are reported from car crashes, which is staggeringly less than drug overdose deaths.
The report involves deaths from powerful painkillers, sedatives, heroin, cocaine and other legal and illegal drugs. The lead researcher of the report, Rose Budd, declared that this confirms that the opioid overdose epidemic is only getting worse. The report urges the community for a need for action to prevent opioid abuse, dependency, and death. The way these painkillers are prescribed must be adjusted. These drugs are perfectly capable of creating opioid use disorders.
Drug Addiction Should Not Be Criminalized
The supply of illegal opioids should also be decimated, heroin in particular. Ilegal fentanyl should also be closely monitored by the government and by hospitals. Creating dependencies for these pharmaceuticals is very easy, but it is very difficult to cut the habit.
US government officials like Hillary Clinton have called heroin and meth addiction a quiet epidemic that must be nipped at the bud. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has shut down the notion that drug addiction is equal to ‘criminal activity’. Addiction is a kind of mental illness, and it should be treated as such. The history behind the spread of heroin has dark streaks, but the heights it has reached are affecting the entire community. Heroin addiction is starting to affect younger people, and while US law allows parents to bring them to treatment, they cannot force them to stay in treatment.
The history behind the spread of heroin has dark streaks, but the heights it has reached are affecting the entire community. Heroin addiction is starting to affect younger people, and while US law allows parents to bring them to treatment, they cannot be forced to stay in treatment.
All of These Medications Cause Hard and Fast Addiction
Other prescription painkillers with opioids are also poorly controlled. Medications with components like hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxycodone and oxycontin should be controlled a lot more strictly. These medications are currently given away whenever patients suffer from basic physical pain, but these painkillers are highly addictive. Overdosing on these medications is very easy and impossible to reverse without a stomach pump.
Information is Key When it Comes to Painkillers and Other Drugs
Safe dosing should be everywhere. The more information people have the effects of increasing or lowering dosage of these drugs, the more apparent the risk will be. Heroin can kill people in minutes, and a lot of the time accidentally. Going over my a single cc can make users pass out and never come back. We have seen it in celebrity deaths like Corey Monteith and Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
Drug Addiction Will Not Be Stopped If An Agreement Isn’t Made
Giving young people information about drug addiction, about depression and about suicidal thoughts can help make a small but important change. Finding non-addictive alternatives would also be better. Plainly said, even medical marijuana has fewer chances of killing you as fast as these synthetic opioids and illegal drugs.
A little goes a long way, and with all of the people that have fallen victim to these kinds of addiction, it’s about time we see some change. Public figures like Russel Brand have taken microphones to voice their experiences going through and surviving abuse. Modern society needs this kind of positive reinforcement to help them realize that they can bounce back. There are too many lives being lost to addiction. Awareness is important, but developing care centers that specialize in this kind of treatment could bring a world of change.
Read: LSD is Way Healthier Than Medical Marijuana
Read: New Study: How to Get High Without LSD or Magic Mushrooms
Painkillers Can Kill You Faster Than Cocaine, But Not as Fast as Heroin
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