Overdose deaths continue to rise, with fentanyl and methamphetamine key culprits
An article published in the New York Times on May 11th detailed the continuing rise of overdose deaths due to fentanyl and methamphetamine. Deaths involving synthetic opioids — largely fentanyl — rose to 71,000 from 58,000, while those associated with stimulants like methamphetamine increased to 33,000 from 25,000. Deaths from both classes of drugs have been rising in recent years; there is also growing evidence that stimulants and opioids are more commonly used together. Dr. Dan Ciccarone, NDEWS Scientific Advisory Group member, and professor of family and community medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, said "There's an intertwined synthetics epidemic the likes of which we've never seen." He also said: "We've never seen a powerful opioid such as fentanyl being mixed with such a potent methamphetamine." Read the full article here.