U.S. - Why California Has Largely Been Spared Fentanyl Deaths--So Far

S.J.B.

S.J.B.

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Why California Has Largely Been Spared Fentanyl Deaths--So Far
Travis Lupick
Filter
October 2nd, 2018

America's crisis of drug-overdose deaths has largely spared California. At 11.2 deaths per 100,000 people in 2016, California?s rate of fatal overdoses is among the lowest in the nation. But there are signs that is changing.

...

Fentanyl could have arrived in California before it did other regions of America, and burned through Los Angeles' vulnerable homeless population. But it didn't. According to the National Drug Early Warning System, in 2016, fentanyl and its analogues accounted for just 0.2 percent of Los Angeles County drug seizures reported by police. There were 373 deaths attributed to fentanyl in California in 2017; meanwhile, states with much smaller populations, such as Ohio and Pennsylvania, saw 3,446 and 3,656 fentanyl deaths, respectively. Deaths attributed to fentanyl remain low in California compared to most other states. Why?

California's demand for illicit opioids is largely met by the Sinaloa cartel And, for now, the type of opioid that the cartel has chosen to export to California is black tar heroin.

People who use heroin tell me it is difficult to mix fentanyl into black tar heroin. Fentanyl is commonly a powder and black tar heroin is, as its name suggests, usually sticky to touch. It's hard to sneak a powder into a substance that's viscous. In contrast, China white heroin, which predominates in other parts of the country, is a powder, and therefore easily adulterated with fentanyl without giving consumers a clue. In most areas where fentanyl has come to account for a majority of drug-overdose deaths, it has infiltrated supply via markets for China white heroin.

California's success in avoiding the worst consequences of America's opioid epidemic is therefore not the result of any government action or less drug use. Instead, Californians largely owe thanks to West Coast drug dealers' traditional preference for black tar heroin over China white.
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Read the full story here.
 
Filter (filtermag.org) is a brand-new news and commentary website focused on drug policy and harm reduction. Definitely worth checking out!
 
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I've never had tar before because I'm from the East Coast. But that is the only heroin I'd buy in the U.S. these days.
I've seen so many friends die and came close with fentanyl/cut dope myself a few times. It's literally scared me off #4 heroin at this point, really hope this trend ends eventually.

It was relatively safe to snort heroin when i started 15 years ago when used cautiously. You can't say that in this day and age. The last time i fell out shooting dope something clicked in my head and I've stuck with pharmaceuticals since. I'm not trying to leave this planet anytime soon.
 
S.J.P. said:
Filter is a brand-new news and commentary website focused on drug policy and harm reduction. Definitely worth checking out!
Click to expand...

Can you post a link?

Trying to search with the words "filter, news, drugs" in any combination with or without other terms doest prove to be helpful.

Thanx homie
 
...at this point though funneling real heroin to the east wouldn't help as ppl tolerance are so high they prefer fentanyl...at least that's what every drug show on TV says.
 
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