In the U.S. just over 5,000 people died from opioid overdose in 1968 and this had increased to just over 8,400 people by 1990. Fast forward to 2016 and this number had increased dramatically to over 64,000 – approx.. 175 people per day. Drug overdose is now the single most common cause of death for people under 50 years old in the U.S.
Opioids is a class of drugs which includes prescription pain killers and illegal drugs such as heroin. In the 1990’s opioids became actively promoted for the treatment of pain in the belief they were non-addictive and prescriptions reached record numbers. In 2016, twelve states had more painkiller prescriptions than they had people.
We now know these painkillers are addictive and around 25% of people who are prescribed them will end up misusing the drug. This class of drug creates pathological levels of cravings to obtain and use the drug, and once the body has adapted to their presence, stopping using creates extremely unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. Once “hooked” it is extremely difficult to quit, often resulting in the use of illegal sources of the drug. Furthermore, the availability of more powerful, synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, has significantly contributed to the current epidemic.
Fentanyl is about 50X more potent than heroin making it very dangerous when used recreationally and without controls – 3 mgs (less than a grain of sand) can kill an average sized adult male. Then there’s Carfentanyl, about 5,000X more potent than heroin. These drugs have been widely available on the street and often “cut” into other drugs to increase profit as they’ve been relatively cheap and easily obtained.
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