• DPMC Moderators: thegreenhand | tryptakid
  • Drug Policy & Media Coverage Welcome Guest
    View threads about
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Drug Busts Megathread Video Megathread

News Drug overdose deaths top 100,000 annually for the first time, driven by fentanyl, CDC data show

thegreenhand said:
Unfortunately the depth and quality of death investigations in the US varies widely by state and municipality so this data is unlikely to emerge en masse

Some jurisdictions might have a physician performing an in depth medical exam and getting a tox screen done…others might have someone with a high school diploma who is an elected official with no specific training. Only 16 states specify training requirements for coroners…

CDC - Coroner Training Requirements - Coroner/Medical Examiner Laws - Public Health Law

Explore a map that depicts the training requirements for coroners.
www.cdc.gov www.cdc.gov
Click to expand...
^ True story. I had cause to look into this some time ago because of another thread.

Off hand I cannot remember where (which County) this happened but it's documented somewhere:

Some college student, as a bit of a joke (well that's how it started out anyway), ran a campaign to get elected as the Coroner. Never expecting to win: she actually did! I don't know if I still have a link to the article but I thought it was kinda hilarious at the time.

Oh here's the thread (with my posts on this topic) that started me off on this tangent:

Flualprazolam Overdose

My 19 year old son recently died. The coroner listed cause of death as a drug interaction between Tylenol PM and Flualprazolam. His toxicology report listed a therapeutic dose of Tylenol. There was .02 mg/liter of Flualprazolam in his femoral blood sample. He was also pretty beat up. His...
www.bluelight.org www.bluelight.org
 
dalpat077 said:
Thanks for commenting. And nice work on that post of yours (on the link that you posted).

I thought it was just me that noticed this. Truth be told: I only found out about their way of reporting by sheer chance i.e. on the day that their statistics were released I just happened to be listening to the BBC World Service and they actually announced the figures for 2020 and then interviewed one of the people that compiles the reports (maybe it's on a podcast somewhere still). That's where I heard the 70% Fentanyl statistic (which for obvious reasons piqued my interest at the time so I went to take a look at the Scottish reports). I have to admit that seeing the various substances implicated in drug related deaths and drug poisonings was surprising to me to say the least. Some of which I'd never ever have even given a second thought to in this context. Examples being diazepam and etizolam, gabapentin and/or pregabalin, and methadone. In my jaded brain: those would never have featured nor been on my radar i.e. don't fall under my category of "the usual suspects".

Drug-related Deaths in Scotland in 2020 | National Records of Scotland

National Records of Scotland
www.nrscotland.gov.uk www.nrscotland.gov.uk
Click to expand...

I overdosed on Benadryl earlier in 2021, don't ever let ANY DRUG OTC OR RX go under the radar. They can all be abused, and lead to serious side effects. In my case for an entire terrifying weekend in April 2021. 72 hours I could not talk at all! My language processing was GONE, ZIP. I'm talking 200 mg of the stuff to sleep away the days because I've been so depressed, and the self-harm has been awful. ER visits, getting stitched up from stimming related non-suicidal self harm/cutting. 8( It's a mess, stay safe people.
 
Hannah Capps said:
I agree, Hemp can be used as gas in farm equipment, and cars; but has been suppressed by the government for years. Not a big surprise here. :|
Click to expand...
The 2018 farm bill in the US helped a lot with deregulating the hemp industry. I hope to see more hemp products being used in the coming years
 
Hannah Capps said:
I overdosed on Benadryl earlier in 2021, don't ever let ANY DRUG OTC OR RX go under the radar. They can all be abused, and lead to serious side effects. In my case for an entire terrifying weekend in April 2021. 72 hours I could not talk at all! My language processing was GONE, ZIP. I'm talking 200 mg of the stuff to sleep away the days because I've been so depressed, and the self-harm has been awful. ER visits, getting stitched up from stimming related non-suicidal self harm/cutting. 8( It's a mess, stay safe people.
Click to expand...
I'm sorry to hear that because I have a fondness for Benadryl but steer clear of big dose paradoxical effects like the guy in the educational film about angel dust who tears off all his clothes and goes hurtling down the block until they shoot him with a dart gun
 
Yeah - I mean I remember in 2013 when I first tried street dope, it was considered deadly and dangerous. We had no idea what was coming. The next year I luckily got out of the scene and that was around the time fentanyl came into play. I've known several people who are dead from it now and many more distant user friends who have died as well. This stuff is no joke, the kids these days (can't believe I'm saying that) have no idea how much better the quality used to be. I feel like you had to be wildly reckless to overdose on heroin and die. These days all it takes is a small bump or hit from a fent bag and if no one is around, you are done for.
 
euphoricc said:
SOUTHERNBORDER IS WIDE OPEN LIKE A HOOKERS LEGS~!
Click to expand...
even if we did "close the border" we're never gonna stop small packages with fentanyl in them being mailed. unless you propose searching everyone’s mail?
 
cant they just ban fentanyl? obviously it doesnt help anyone at all. not like cancer patients really benefit from it at all. being widely available, asshole drug dealers will keep getting access and use and kill people. i just dont undertstand why is it so hard to just ban fentanyl and make it illegal??? althought as i hear there are fentanyl test strips now that educated heroin shooters use to distinquish batches. maybe just distribute those to every for free? but thats too much useless payless work. JUST BAN FENTANYL!! gooddamn
 
allone said:
cant they just ban fentanyl? obviously it doesnt help anyone at all. not like cancer people really benefit from it at all. being widely available, asshole drug dealers will keep getting access to use and kill people. i just dont undertstand why is it so hard to just ban fentanyl and make it illegal???
Click to expand...
They’ve tried to ban heroin and meth too. The demand is simply too great, these drugs aren’t going anywhere.

And it actually can be very beneficial for pain patients. The US military has fentanyl lollipops for critically wounded soldiers. It’s great for anesthesia. Pretty non toxic at reasonable doses

The danger of fentanyl is not inherent to the substance, it’s when users take it unknowingly in a tainted drug supply.
 
thegreenhand said:
They’ve tried to ban heroin and meth too. The demand is simply too great, these drugs aren’t going anywhere.

And it actually can be very beneficial for pain patients. The US military has fentanyl lollipops for critically wounded soldiers. It’s great for anesthesia. Pretty non toxic at reasonable doses

The danger of fentanyl is not inherent to the substance, it’s when users take it unknowingly in a tainted drug supply.
Click to expand...

why are drug dealers using fentanyl tho to kill people knowing it will kill em? i understand profit IS profit and we all are humans that need our money but thats just too crazy making me think humans are mostly scum. IS this true? humans are mostly nasty ass jackals and scumbags??
my ex drug dealer he always used to be so wise telling me, "i dont want you to die, i need your money" so he mixed the heroin wiht sleep pills and baby powder or whatevwr. have drug dealers gone nuts in modern age or what??
 
allone said:
why are drug dealers using fentanyl tho to kill people knowing it will kill em? i understand profit IS profit and we all are humans that need our money but thats just too crazy making me think humans are mostly scum. IS this true? humans are mostly nasty ass jackals and scumbags??
Click to expand...
It’s likely not some intentional harm that drug dealers are doing. Rather, fentanyl has become ridiculously cheap to produce, ship, and sell (at least compared to heroin)

Street level dealers have little control over what drugs they can buy from distributors. The cartels, at least in America, control that end of the supply chain and they’ve decided synthesizing fentanyl is a better business model than growing poppies and producing heroin.

Dealers don’t want their customers to die. And in fact, it’s not unheard for dealers to test their supply for fentanyl and let their customers know.
 
"fentanyl is a better business model than growing poppies and producing heroin" thats worrysome right there. it wasnt like this in my days mid 2000s. life was smooth with heroin. lots of baby powder and sleep pills, but i got used to it. now, the new generation, they cannot enjoy heroin as properly. and im very pro-life guy meaning, if someone wants to get high on heroin, they should!! people should have their experience in their lifetime before death because thats the end. BUT to enjoy AND die because of it, im against!!! this ruins the whole heroin thing. covid and fentanyl! way to go world!! kill as many as you can, why not, right!
 
yes it is very worrisome.

I hope we can one day move past moralizing attitudes about drug use and accept that safe supply really is incredible harm reduction
 
Anyone else find it shocking that this seemed to go unnoticed by the vast majority of people?

This is a true crisis and it seemed to just be swept under the rug.

I wonder, was it intentionally brushed away or are people's heads too far up their ass from covid/politics?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top