As the nation's opioid crisis grew, the pills got stronger

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

WASHINGTON — In 2012, as the death toll from the nation’s opioid crisis mounted, drug companies shipped out enough of the powerful and addictive painkillers for every man, woman and child in the U.S. to have nearly a 20-day supply.

In some counties, mostly in Appalachia, it was well over 100 days.

An Associated Press analysis of drug distribution data released as a result of lawsuits against the industry also found that the amount of opioids as measured by total potency continued to rise early this decade even as the number of pills distributed began to dip.

The reason: Doctors were prescribing — and the industry was supplying — stronger pills.

“It shows it wasn’t just the number of pills being shipped that increased. The actual amount of opioids being prescribed and consumed went up,” said Anna Lembke, a Stanford University professor who researches opioids and is serving as a paid expert witness for plaintiffs in the litigation.

“We know that the higher the dose of prescribed opioids, and the longer patients are on them, even for a legitimate pain condition, the more likely they are to get addicted.”

The AP found that the overall amount of opioid medication shipped to pharmacies, medical providers and hospitals increased 55% from 2006 through 2012. The number of pills rose significantly over that period, too — but that increase was lower, about 44%. (The amount of medication was calculated using a standard measure of potency known as a morphine milligram equivalent, or MME.)

https://www.heraldnet.com/business/as-the-nations-opioid-crisis-grew-the-pills-got-stronger/?utm_source=DAILY+HERALD&utm_campaign=abbd19e893-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d81d073bb4-abbd19e893-228635337

[brewens]

1. In Idaho, if you had a bar that's liquor sales were way out of line, like more than their capicty

could even account for, the state liquor inspector would be all over it in no time. No way you could get away with selling booze out the back door to kids or anything like that for long.

[cannabis_flower]

2. I have a story...

About 10 years ago, my right knee started hurting. I couldn't remember anything I did to injure it. My primary told me that I must have twisted it and told me to take Tylenol. I limped along for a while and someone I met suggested I go to Dr. Lou, an orthopedic surgeon.

I went and he sent me for an MRI and then said I had a bone bruise. He told me to take Tylenol also. This didn't help and I called and said I was in a lot of pain. His nurse asked me what I thought he should prescribe. I'm not a doctor. I said perhaps Darvacet. They called in a prescription for some.

About a month later, I'm still limping around. My friends suggested I should go to someone else. I remembered another orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Barnes, who has previously repaired my torn ligament in my ankle. I called and made an appointment.

I went to the appointment and Dr. Barnes acted strange. I told him about the other doctor and the pills and he didn't do anything but prescribed me 90 Darvacets.

I went to the pharmacy and they said I was 3 days early and they would have to call the doctor. They called and the doctor refused to authorize them. I called the doctor and they authorized them but made me resign a Pain Management Agreement.

About a week later I forgot to take the pill in the morning and I was in terrible pain and I called to be seen again. The receptionist said Dr. Barnes was on vacation and to see his stand-in. I called and made an appointment for the next day but had to go to the hospital later that day because I couldn't put any weight on my knee. They gave me a shot of Vicadin and a tranqelizer and told me to see my doctor.

I went to Dr. Barnes stand-in Dr. Hume and he heard my story, examined my knee, took an x-ray and said he could tell by the space between the bones that I had significant arthritis in my knee. He ordered a brace, gave me a shot of cortisone and a prescription for Meloxicam, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory. If one of the first 2 doctors had bothered to do an x-ray instead of assuming I was a drug addict, I would never have needed to ask for something for the pain because the anti-inflammatory would have stopped the pain.

I think maybe what clued Dr. Hume into knowing that I wasn't a drug addict was that drug addicts don't forget to take pills. Or maybe he was just a better doctor. The others misdiagnosed me and then just assumed I was a drug addict looking for pills. If a patient says they are in pain the doctor needs to find out why and not just assume they are drug addicts.

[Celerity]

3. wait until Carfentanil (100 times more powerful than Fentanyl) starts to really hit here

It is on the rise in Canada, it has been pushed since 2016 by online Chinese drug firms.

Spike in carfentanil deaths prompts warning from Ontario's chief medical officer of health

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/carfentanil-warnings-1.5199818

The number of Ontarians taking carfentanil, and dying from it, has spiked since the year began, according to he province's chief medical officer of health.

Dr. David Williams sent a warning to the province's public health units in late June about a "sharp increase" in the presence of the powerful fentanyl analogue.

Using information from Ontario chief coroner Dirk Huyer, Williams wrote that in the first four months of 2019, carfentanil "directly contributed" to 142 deaths in Ontario.

That number, wrote Williams, is "already 50 per cent more than the total number of deaths in which carfentanil directly contributed in all of 2018, which was 95 deaths."

snip



California Man Sentenced For Bringing Fentanyl, Carfentanil From Overseas Into Western Pa.

http://butlerradio.com/california-man-sentenced-for-bringing-fentanyl-carfentanil-from-overseas-into-western-pa/


A man from California has been sentenced to ten years behind bars on his conviction of conspiring to bring fentanyl and carfentanil from overseas into Butler, Beaver and Allegheny counties.

44-year-old Nikia Perkins pleaded guilty back in March to one count of violating federal narcotics laws. Chief United States District Judge Mark Hornak imposed the sentence- of a decade of imprisonment and five years of supervised release- on Perkins. The sentence was announced Wednesday by U.S. Attorney Scott Brady.

The charges stemmed from a wiretap investigation by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. The Cranberry Township Police Department was recognized for its role in the investigation.

snip