Some groundbreaking investigative reporting by The New York Times reveals an astounding statistic about the growing opioid epidemic.
According to the Grey Lady, tor the first half of 2016 — the time for which data are available — there were 59,779 opioid overdose deaths.
Data for the full year is not yet available due to the time it takes to perform autopsies and certify drug deaths.
Overdose deaths have climbed 19 percent since 2015, when 52,404 deaths were reported. And it has only worsened in 2017, according to the Times.
Opioid overdose hotspots include Florida, Maryland, Maine, and Pennsylvania.
The Times report highlights Ohio, and notes that there were so many deaths in Summit County in 2016, on three different occasions, hospitals needed refrigerated trailers because the morgue could no longer house the overflow of bodies.
The state of Ohio also recently filed a lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies for pushing opioids such as oxycodone on patients.
Opioids are now the leading cause of death among people under the age of 50.
The most deadly opioid of them all, Fentanyl — the hardcore drug that killed Prince — is popping up everywhere and is much more potent than heroin. Cocaine is being laced with it, and dealers on the street are also now offering carfentanil, an elephant tranquilizer that is 5,000 times as potent as pure heroin.
The very day carfentanil hit the streets in Akron, Ohio, there were 17 overdoses and one death in the span of nine hours.
More than two million Americans are estimated to be dependent on opioids; on top of that, 95 million used prescription painkillers in the past year. To put this in perspective, fewer people smoked cigarettes or used tobacco.
What do you think? Are doctor-prescribed opioids like oxycodone just a gateway drug to heroin and fentanyl?
