PHARMACIST STEVE

The official numbers are in with regard to prescription drugs vs. Heroin/Fentanyl. Here are the take-aways:

1. From 2010 forward, various changes were made to “clamp down” on the use/abuse of prescription opioids. That included introducing “abuse-deterrent” OxyContin, mandatory checking of Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) databases, and other things that reduced supply. Here is the result.
   1. If the five-year trendline from 2006 through 2010 had continued, the death rate from prescription opioids would have been 5.75 per 100,000. Because of these changes, that number in 2015 was actually 4.84 per 100,000. On the surface that appears to be a good thing, EXCEPT:
   2. If the five-year trendline from 2006 through 2010 had continued, the death rate from Heroin + Fentanyl would have been 2.62 per 100,000. Because of these changes, that number in 2015 was actually 6.30 per 100,000.
   3. In short, one (1) fewer person per 100,000 is dying from prescription opioids, BUT we are now killing nearly four (4) additional people per 100,000 from Heroin + Fentanyl. How’s that for a policy backfiring!

SUMMARY: Rather than saving lives, we are now killing three additional people per 100,000. It is true that one (1) fewer is overdosing on prescription drugs, but now four (4) more are overdosing from Heroin + Fentanyl. And in fact, the person that we think we are saving is probably just overdosing on street drugs, so we are not even saving that person. We are just killing them and 3 of their buddies as well. Insanity!

Filed under: General Problems