Category: Drug Overdose

Prime Age Mortality up 40 Percent, Majority Not COVID-19

Mortality among young-to-middle-age Americans went through the roof last year. The majority of the increase didn’t involve the COVID-19 disease, according to official death certificate data. Deaths among people aged 18–49 increased more than 40 percent in the 12 months ending October 2021 compared to the same period in 2018–2019, before the pandemic, based on…


Prime Age Mortality up 40 Percent, Majority of Deaths Not From COVID-19

Mortality among young-to-middle-age Americans went through the roof last year. The majority of the increase didn’t involve the COVID-19 disease, according to official death certificate data. Deaths among people aged 18–49 increased more than 40 percent in the 12 months ending October 2021 compared to the same period in 2018–2019, before the pandemic, based on…


5 Fentanyl Poisonings at Westminster Park

WESTMINSTER, Calif.—Five individuals were hospitalized after overdosing on what is believed to be fentanyl after they were found unresponsive inside Westminster’s Sigler Park. Police arrived at 5:55 p.m. Nov. 13 at the park after someone called in regarding multiple unconscious people near the bathrooms, according to Sgt. Alan Aoki of the Westminster Police Department. After arrival, officers…


California Judge Rules 4 Drug Manufacturers Cannot Be Held Liable for Fueling Statewide Opioid Epidemic

A California judge on Monday ruled that four drug manufacturers cannot be held liable for fueling the widespread opioid epidemic in the state, dealing a significant blow to the $50 billion case. Attorneys representing three counties in California—Orange, Santa Clara, and Los Angeles, plus the city of Oakland—filed the lawsuit in 2014. They argued that the drug companies Endo International Plc.,…


California Judge Rules 4 Drugmakers Can’t Be Held Liable for Fueling Statewide Opioid Epidemic

A California judge on Nov. 1 ruled that four drug manufacturers can’t be held liable for fueling the widespread opioid epidemic in the state, dealing a significant blow to the $50 billion case. Attorneys representing three counties in California—Orange, Santa Clara, and Los Angeles, plus the city of Oakland—filed the lawsuit in 2014. They argued that the drug companies Endo International…


NYC Fentanyl Deaths Up 55 Percent During Pandemic

New York City residents have increasingly succumbed to overdoses on synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. These deaths have soared by more than 55 percent in the 12 months ending March, compared to the same period the year before. That means 1,778 died of this cause in the city by March 2021, compared with 1,145 by…


US Drug Overdose Deaths Reached Record High of 96,000 in First 12 Months of Pandemic: CDC

Deaths from drug overdose in the United States jumped nearly 30 percent in a 12-month period ending in March 2021, according to provisional data released on Wednesday. The United States saw a record high of 96,779 reported drug overdose deaths, an increase of 29.6 percent in the period of a year from March 2020—coinciding with…


The Fentanyl Flood Into the US: Why Can’t We Make It Stop?

Commentary About 11 times every hour, about 250 times a day, an American citizen dies of a drug overdose. The most frequent culprit is fentanyl. The most popular mode of delivery is fentanyl-laced heroin, fentanyl mixed with cocaine, or illegally produced OxyContin pain pills containing fentanyl. And it’s not just hardcore addicts who are dying….


Data Show Harm-Reduction Approach to Drug Addiction Not Working, Says Former Advocate of Approach

Statistics and data show that drug decriminalization and harm reduction have had adverse results and led to more dire consequences, says a California-based author and journalist who once advocated for both. Between 1996 and 2000, Michael Shellenberger supported harm reduction policies and fought for the treatment of drug addiction as a public health problem rather…


US Drug Overdose Deaths Surged Nearly 30 Percent in 2020 to Record High

Deaths from drug overdose in the United States jumped nearly 30 percent in 2020 from the year before, according to provisional data released Wednesday. Over 93,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2020, up from 72,151 in 2019, according to the provisional statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The 93,331 estimated…