Pubdate: Tue, 22 Dec 2015
Source: Orange County Register, The (CA)
Copyright: 2015 The Orange County Register
Contact:  http://www.ocregister.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321
Author: Jenna Chandler

DRUG OVERDOSE DEATHS HIT NEW PEAK IN U.S. IN 2014

The drug overdose epidemic worsened in 2014, killing a record 47,055 
Americans - more than the total who died in auto accidents, according 
to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most, more than 60 percent, of the overdoses involved opioids: heroin 
and prescription painkillers, including Vicodin, OxyContin and Percocet.

"The increasing number of deaths from opioid overdose is alarming," 
said CDC Director Tom Frieden. "The opioid epidemic is devastating 
American families and communities."

While overdose death rates in some states escalated between 2013 and 
2014  as much as 125 percent in North Dakota  it held steady in 
California. But in Orange County, deaths rose from 349 in 2013 to a 
record 377 in 2014, according to coroner data.

Nationwide, the pace of heroin deaths continued to soar, more than 
tripling in four years.

Heroin is a cheaper alternative to prescription drugs. Many users 
turn to it after getting hooked on painkillers they can no longer afford.

In 2012, health care providers in the U.S. wrote 259 million 
prescriptions for painkillers, enough for every adult to have one 
bottle of pills, according to the CDC.

Also on the upswing, according to the CDC report: deaths from a super 
potent opioid called fentanyl, which is prescribed to cancer patients 
and others with chronic pain.

The version of fentanyl that's killing people in growing numbers is 
illicitly manufactured in clandestine labs. Sometimes it's laced with 
heroin, and users unknowingly inject or swallow too much.

Fentanyl use has ravaged some places on the East Coast. Orange County 
officials first saw the drug this year while investigating an 
overdose victim in May. They previously had detected the drug during 
coroner toxicology tests, but this victim had the powder with him.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom