Medical pot laws no answer for US opioid deaths, study finds
5 years, 6 months ago

Medical pot laws no answer for US opioid deaths, study finds

Associated Press  

A new study shoots down the notion that medical marijuana laws can prevent opioid overdose deaths, challenging a favorite talking point of legal pot advocates. When the new researchers included data through 2017, they found the reverse: States passing medical marijuana laws saw a 23% higher than expected rate of deaths involving prescription opioids. “We weren’t happy when a billboard went up saying marijuana laws reduce overdose deaths,” said Brendan Saloner of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “That was very hard for us to rein in.” Marijuana has been shown to help ease chronic pain, and other studies have suggested medical marijuana laws may reduce opioid prescribing.

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History of this topic

Drug laws are failing us: Three in four police say possession policies are ineffective in preventing crime and deaths
1 month, 1 week ago

Drug laws are failing us: Three in four police say possession policies are ineffective in preventing crime and deaths

Daily Mail  

Three-quarters of police say that drug laws are failing to stem a rising tide of crime and a spiralling death toll, a powerful report has found. Polling by the Centre for Social Justice found that 74 per cent of police think current drug possession policies are ineffective, and two-thirds say cannabis has effectively been decriminalised. Legalising cannabis in the UK …

Biden administration proposes to reclassify marijuana as low risk drug
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Biden administration proposes to reclassify marijuana as low risk drug

Firstpost  

Marijuana has been classified since 1970 as a so-called Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act – the same level as heroin, ecstasy and LSD. That classification means it is deemed to have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse US President Joe Biden’s administration formally proposed on Thursday reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug, …

Fewer US overdose deaths were reported last year, but experts are still cautious
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Fewer US overdose deaths were reported last year, but experts are still cautious

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — The number of U.S. fatal overdoses fell last year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data posted Wednesday. CDC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Deb Houry called the dip “heartening news” and praised efforts to reduce the tally, but she noted “there are still families and friends losing their loved ones to drug overdoses at staggering …

Drug overdose deaths in the US decreased in 2023, for the first time in five years
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Drug overdose deaths in the US decreased in 2023, for the first time in five years

CNN  

CNN — After a steep rise during the Covid-19 pandemic, preliminary data shows that drug overdose deaths in the United States ticked down in 2023 for the first time in five years. “This progress over the last 12 months should make us want to reinvigorate our efforts knowing that our strategies are making a difference,” CDC Chief Medical Officer Dr. …

More people die after smoking drugs than injecting them, US study finds
10 months, 3 weeks ago

More people die after smoking drugs than injecting them, US study finds

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — Smoking has surpassed injecting as the most common way of taking drugs in U.S. overdose deaths, a new government study suggests. Some early research has suggested that smoking fentanyl is somewhat less deadly than injecting it, and any reduction in injection-related overdose deaths is a positive, said the study’s lead author, Lauren Tanz. But “both injection and …

Decriminalizing drugs in Oregon and Washington isn't associated with overdose increases, study finds
1 year, 3 months ago

Decriminalizing drugs in Oregon and Washington isn't associated with overdose increases, study finds

Salon  

In 2020, Oregon voters passed Measure 110, a law decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of controlled substances like cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. Between 2020 and 2021, overdose deaths did increase in Oregon and Washington with some apparent missteps in the rollout of decriminalization programs: An audit of Oregon's program released in January 2023 found the legislation was vague in …

FDA advisers vote in favor of making opioid overdose antidote available over the counter
1 year, 10 months ago

FDA advisers vote in favor of making opioid overdose antidote available over the counter

CNN  

CNN — If the US Food and Drug Administration gives the go-ahead, a nasal spray version of the opioid overdose antidote Narcan may soon be sold in vending machines, big box stores, grocery stores and gas stations across the country. “I’ve lost patients over the years and have watched as many families have been devastated by this rising, worsening and …

Opioids: Illicit use tied to higher risk of death from these causes
5 years ago

Opioids: Illicit use tied to higher risk of death from these causes

CNN  

CNN — People using illicit opioids are not only at an increased risk of a drug-related death, but a new study finds they have an elevated risk of dying from noncommunicable diseases, infectious diseases, suicide and unintentional injuries. “People might be surprised that although overdose was the most common cause of death, it’s far from the only cause of death …

US opioid epidemic by numbers
5 years, 2 months ago

US opioid epidemic by numbers

Al Jazeera  

From the number of deaths linked to overdoses to the number of lawsuits, a look at the scale of the US opioid crisis. Opioid deaths in the United States have soared over the last 20 years, driving a wave of litigation against drugmakers and distributors. Numbers relating to opioid use, illnesses and deaths are based on information from the US …

Incarceration, falling incomes may play a role in the US opioid epidemic, study says
5 years, 6 months ago

Incarceration, falling incomes may play a role in the US opioid epidemic, study says

CNN  

CNN — Unraveling the factors fueling America’s opioid epidemic remains complicated. In counties across the United States, when incarceration rates rise and household incomes fall, drug-related deaths increase, according to a study published Wednesday in the medical journal Lancet Public Health. “So imprisoning people – giving them negative consequences to get them to stop using drugs – is not going …

Opioid use, drug-related disorders on the rise: UN report
5 years, 6 months ago

Opioid use, drug-related disorders on the rise: UN report

Al Jazeera  

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says 30 percent more people used drugs in 2017 than in 2009. Synthetic opioid use is booming, the United Nations said on Wednesday, in a worldwide drug report that shows rising deaths in the United States from overdoses and a “crisis” of tramadol use emerging in parts of Africa. Increased drug use …

Marijuana health claims lure patients as science catches up
5 years, 6 months ago

Marijuana health claims lure patients as science catches up

Associated Press  

SEATTLE — Marijuana has been shown to help ease pain and a few other health problems, yet two-thirds of U.S. states have decided pot should be legal to treat many other conditions with little scientific backing. A look at the health claims and research on medical marijuana: THE EVIDENCE Besides chronic pain, there’s strong evidence marijuana or its ingredients can …

Opioid epidemic: Eastern United States most affected
5 years, 10 months ago

Opioid epidemic: Eastern United States most affected

CNN  

CNN — While there’s early evidence that the explosive rate of opioid deaths has started to slow, opioids killed more than 49,000 people in the United States in 2017, according to preliminary data. In a study of opioid deaths from 1999 to 2016, “we found that, in general, opioid mortality is skyrocketing,” said Mathew Kiang, a postdoctoral research fellow at …

Opioid epidemic spilling over onto roads, study says
5 years, 10 months ago

Opioid epidemic spilling over onto roads, study says

CNN  

CNN — Patients who are prescribed opioids and the clinicians who prescribe themhave more to be concerned about than steadily rising rates of opioid overdoses, according to a new study. As the United States struggles with an opioid epidemic, these findings could affect health care providers’ decision-making processes, the authors say. Study author Dr. Guohua Li, a professor of epidemiology …

Even in best-case scenario, opioid overdose deaths will keep rising until 2022
5 years, 11 months ago

Even in best-case scenario, opioid overdose deaths will keep rising until 2022

LA Times  

A firefighter treats an opioid overdose victim in Rockford, Ill. A new study projects that if present trends continue, opioid overdose deaths in the U.S. will rise sharply in coming years. If the supply of prescription painkillers stops declining and there are other setbacks, researchers predict that yearly opioid overdose deaths could rise as high as 200,000 per year by …

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