The Worst Addiction Epidemic in U.S. History

[Grizzly]

^^^

Thank you, Cordelia! This hits home hard. It (the pandemic) has decimated all the 12 step communities in my little town*, and I image even harder in bigger cities...

*we still don't know the damage done as we can't yet meet to assess the toll... The recovery communities are in crisis.

[Cordelia]

^^^
You’re welcome Griz!

*we still don't know the damage done as we can't yet meet to assess the toll... The recovery communities are in crisis.

Yeah, the shut-down of peer support groups must be taking a devastating, unprecedented hit on anyone who relies on one-on-one empathy and camaraderie. Where will this take The Human Condition? I couldn’t finish reading the WaPo article I posted, its impact was just too great. Here’s a link to a compilation on drug overdoses, state-by-state, issued by the AMA last week.

Issue brief: Reports of increases in opioid-related overdose during COVID pandemic

https://www.ama-assn.org/system/files/2 ... erdose.pdf

(There but by the grace of God go I.)

[norton ash]

Zoom 12-step meetings are no substitute. Most people in recovery find them annoying, frustrating... hugs and handshakes and eye contact really mean so much more. They say an addict by herself is in bad company.

Fentanyl is the new killer in our midst as well. Sold by people who don't care to people who don't care anymore either.

[PufPuf93]

Seems like the suicide rates could go off the chart as well during this time of pandemic, economic collapse, and political chaos.

No doubt there is an overlap between opiate overdose and suicide.

Here in Humboldt, the heartland of cannabis in the USA, opiate busts are regular and with little impact on traffickers. This was a small bust. There is such a merry go round and people informing on each other that several recent busts were at the county line where LE knew they were in route.

Two arrests this week, guess who went to jail and who was released without bond? Lots of pictures and local discussion at links.

19 AND 20-YEAR-OLD ARRESTED FOR TRANSPORTING 4.5 POUNDS OF HEROIN, SAYS DTF

On July 1st, 2020, at approximately 7:00 p.m., special agents with the Humboldt County Drug Task Force (HCDTF), with the assistance of the Fortuna Police Department, contacted two subjects at a business located in the 600 block of South Fortuna Boulevard, Fortuna. Through their investigation, agents received information that Juan Navejarm (age 19) and Marysol Renteria (age 20), both from Los Angles, were in Fortuna with a substantial amount of heroin.

Upon police contact, Navejarm attempted to conceal a paper bag containing a large amount of suspected heroin.

Navejarm and Renteria were both detained pending further investigation. Both subjects were cooperative and explained to agents they had just travelled from Los Angeles to deliver narcotics.

In total, agents seized nearly 4.5 pounds of suspected heroin packed for sales. For officer and community safety concerns regarding COVID-19, agents elected to release Navejarm and Renteria and will forward their report to the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

Anyone with information related to this investigation or other narcotics related crimes are encouraged to call the Humboldt County Drug Task Force at 707-267-9976 or the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Tip Line at 707-268-2539.

http://kymkemp.com/2020/07/02/19-and-20 ... of-heroin/

The young heroin traffickers were released but the illegal fireworks guy was arrested (plus the arrestee is the Vice Chairman of the Trinidad (Yurok) Rancheria).


OVER 10,000 LBS OF ILLEGAL FIREWORKS SEIZED IN EUREKA, SAYS CAL FIRE


On July 1, 2020, at about 10:12 a.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the 700 block of Alpha Street in Eureka to investigate the report of illegal fireworks.

While on scene, deputies located illegal fireworks and notified CAL FIRE Law Enforcement. With assistance from Sheriff’s deputies, CAL FIRE Law Enforcement officers seized over 10,000 lbs of illegal fireworks from the residence. The fireworks will be transferred to the California State Fire Marshal and safely destroyed.

Zackery Edward Brown, age 34 of Eureka, was arrested and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on the following charges:

Possession of more than 5,000 lbs. of dangerous fireworks (Health and Safety Code Section 12700(b)(4))
Sell or deliver dangerous fireworks without a permit (Health and Safety Code Section 12676)
Possession of dangerous fireworks without a permit (Health and Safety Code Section 12677)

Residents are reminded that only fireworks bearing the Safe and Sane logo are legal to possess in the State of California. For more information on fire prevention please visit www.ReadyforWildfire.org.

http://kymkemp.com/2020/07/03/over-1000 ... -cal-fire/

[Cordelia]

Seems like the suicide rates could go off the chart as well during this time of pandemic, economic collapse, and political chaos.

No doubt there is an overlap between opiate overdose and suicide.

You're right, PufPuf; the numbers must be skyrocketing. (That overdosing is a relatively painless way to die could be a sad comfort for the loved ones left behind.)

An essay from 2019, pre-Virus:

The Concealed Crisis: Suicide by Opioid Overdose

Turning Point Oct 3, 2019

As the opioid epidemic rages on and thousands of lives have been claimed by fatal opioid overdoses, one aspect of this national crisis is often overshadowed: the number of people who take their own lives via intentional overdose. Perhaps no drug causes so many suicides by overdose as opioids. Although it is difficult to assess whether opioid overdoses are intentional or accidental, experts estimate as many as 30% of fatal opioid overdoses may have been suicides. Further research has revealed that those who misuse prescription opioids are 40 to 60% more likely to have suicidal thoughts.

https://www.turningpointnj.org/blog/201 ... -overdose/

From NIMH link in above:

It can be challenging to discover the true relationship between suicide and drug use. In the absence of a suicide note, it is difficult to assess the intentions of an individual who has died of an overdose, other than circumstantially. Also, the intentions of someone with OUD who overdoses may not always be clear-cut. In a study last year of current and past overdose experiences among patients seeking treatment in a Flint, Michigan emergency department, 39% of those whose worst overdose had involved an opioid or sedative reported wanting to die or not caring about the risks; another 15% reported they were unsure of their intentions.

While we don’t know exactly how many opioid overdose deaths are actually suicides, some experts estimate that up to 30% of opioid overdoses may fit this description. The connection between opioid overdose and suicide has appeared to increase over time, with one 2017 analysis of National Vital Statistics data showing significant increases in suicides involving opioids among all age groups except teens and young adults between 1999 and 2014; in those aged 55-64, the rate quadrupled.

[stickdog99]

[Cordelia]

^^^