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Dr. David (Nash)

30 Aug, 9 tweets, 4 min read

The US drug overdose death count in 1999 was 16,849. This number has increased almost every year since then (2018 was the only decline) and is estimated to exceed 93,000 overdose deaths in 2020.

#OverdoseAwarenessWeek

@CDCgov

Here’s a @CDCgov source showing drug overdose deaths from 1999-2017.

@CDCgov

This other data set from the @CDCgov shows the contributors. Since the mid-2010’s, a large % of drug overdose deaths was caused by fentanyl. Meth, cocaine, Rx opioids & benzos have contributed too.

👉🏾Exclusively limiting Rx opioid distribution has failed to solve the epidemic.

At this point, we have data that show a problem, the feds tried a solution, and it does not seem to be working. Overdose deaths are still climbing even with Rx opioid distribution restrictions. It’s time for new policies that promote innovative solutions to curb overdoses.

Public health experts have suggested promoting solutions such as #harmreduction, easily accessible addiction treatment, effective preventative education (that isn’t DARE), and improved police drug interdiction.

Implementing one solution (especially limiting Rx opioids from ppl that actually NEED them for pain management) isn’t going to solve the drug overdose epidemic. There are more solutions available and it’s up to citizens to pressure their public officials to adopt these solutions.

Illicit drugs will always be the biggest contributor to drug overdoses as long as there is a black market for those drugs. Illicit Fentanyl is cheap and easy to add to heroin, cocaine, random pills, etc. Meth is now in counterfeit Adderall tablets. What’s the solution for that?

Point being: let’s come up with solutions for the biggest problems to the drug overdose epidemic ➡️ illicit drugs that are laced with unknown hazardous ingredients and improving the #mentalhealth infrastructure in America.
#OverdoseAwarenessWeek

The elderly woman that takes oxy’s for her hip pain isn’t stealing your PS5 to “get a fix”… she just wants her damn pain meds that her doctor has been prescribing her for years so she can live normally. Addiction is a #mentalhealth issue, not a pain patient issue.

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More from @DrDavid_IDEM

Dr. David (Nash)

@DrDavid_IDEM

1 Sep

I’ll cap #OverdoseAwarenessDay with this. Data show there was no correlation between Rx opioid dispensing and the drug overdose death rate in 38 states & D.C (represented by the dots) in 2018. The closer R-squared (R^2) is to 1, the stronger the correlation. Here R^2 is 0.00002.

0.00002 is VERY VERY far from 1, indicating that the Rx opioid dispensing rate from state to state had no effect on drug overdose numbers.

Explanation of the data: In simple linear regression, R-squared is known as the correlation coefficient, on a scale of 0-1, 1 being a perfect linear correlation and 0 being no correlation.

Read 6 tweets

Dr. David (Nash)

@DrDavid_IDEM

31 Aug

To compare the 3 south Florida counties’ drug #overdose data, each of them had an 83%+ increase of OD deaths from 2015 to 2016 📈. Then in 2018, all 3 saw a drop in their drug OD death count 📉.

#InternationalOverdoseAwarenessDay

My educated guess: the positive overdose death spikes in 2015 may be attributed to the rise of illicit fentanyl in the US. I’m not too sure about the negative spike in 2018. Keep in mind that 2018 was the ONLY year of nationwide #overdose death decline since 1999.

@HealthyFla

Maybe the decrease was due to programs such as @HealthyFla HEROS that distributed free naloxone/Narcan to #FirstResponders. But of course, the overdose death count jumped back up in 2019.

Read 4 tweets

Dr. David (Nash)

@DrDavid_IDEM

31 Aug

Effective early drug education is necessary to curb drug #overdose deaths. And no, I don’t mean DARE. I taught a univ. freshman seminar class and they go through a lesson on “substance abuse” and those 18 yr olds didn’t know sh*t about drugs. #InternationalOverdoseAwarenessDay

If that’s the representation of our teenage and young adults in the US, then we need to do more in middle school & high school to educate them about drugs, responsible medical use, and the risks of irresponsible or recreational drug use. Educate them rather than scare them str8.

We can’t look at the drug epidemic as a problem that will be solved overnight, or next year, or even in 5 years. We must invest more in educating the younger generations with basic information about drugs.

Read 6 tweets

Dr. David (Nash)

@DrDavid_IDEM

31 Aug

My next few posts will be about South #Florida, the most populated region in my state. Miami-Dade Co. also had a large surge in drug #overdose deaths in 2016 and has remained above 200 per year ever since.

#InternationalOverdoseAwarenessDay

This 135 drug #overdose death surge is within the same timing as the 248 death surge in the Jacksonville Florida area (shown in my last tweet) from 2015 to 2016. This surge also correlates to the rise of illicit fentanyl overdose spikes in the US.

The data from Miami-Dade is actually mind boggling. This county is the most populated in #Florida but has managed to maintain one of the lowest overdose deaths per 100k ppl in the state over the years.

Read 5 tweets

Dr. David (Nash)

@DrDavid_IDEM

31 Aug

It’s #InternationalOverdoseAwarenessDay. In America, the drug epidemic does not get enough attention from the media and our many public officials. Many ppl aren’t even aware of the fact that ~100k ppl died last year due to drug overdoses.

Even before #COVID19 came along and numbed us from every day death tolls, 200 ppl were dying each day from drug use in the US. Now that number is 250 ppl dying per day from drug overdoses. The first step to a solution is to recognize that there is a problem.

Today in honor of #OverdoseAwarenessDay , I’ll be posting a bunch of information about drug overdoses. Since I am from Florida, a lot of my data will be from Florida, but the sentiment of this huge problem applies to almost every large metro area in the US.

Read 5 tweets

Dr. David (Nash)

@DrDavid_IDEM

30 Aug

“In recent years, we have seen synthetic opioids, such as illicitly manufactured fentanyl, drive many overdose deaths with cocaine- and methamphetamine-related deaths also increasing at alarming rates.”

#OverdoseAwarenessDay tomorrow.

whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/…

“As a Nation, we need a strong response to America’s overdose epidemic and an investment in prevention, #harmreduction, treatment and recovery services, as well as strategies to reduce the supply of illicit drugs.”

“… by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim August 29 through September 4, 2021, as Overdose Awareness Week.”

Read 5 tweets

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