#overdose-deaths
#overdose-deaths

San Francisco Gets New Glimpse Into Illicit Drug Use With Wastewater Testing | KQED

Wastewater testing provides insights into the drug usage crisis in San Francisco.

Geographic variations in drug concentrations may not correspond to actual usage levels. [ more ]

Kqed

1 month ago

San Francisco Promotes Treatment for Stimulant Use Disorder Amid Overdose Epidemic | KQED

San Francisco's overdose death rates remain steady in early 2024 compared to 2023.

City health officials in San Francisco are expanding contingency management programs for drug use. [ more ]

sfist.com

Day Around the Bay: Vintage Cable Car Dedicated to Tony Bennett

Tony Bennett honored with refurbished cable car

January overdose deaths in San Francisco decrease by 20% [ more ]

Kqed

San Francisco to Open First Permanent Supportive Housing for the Sober Community | KQED

San Francisco is opening its first permanent supportive housing for residents in recovery from addiction.

The housing units will be located at Hotel North Beach and will provide on-site support services and case workers. [ more ]

sfist.com

Sup. Dorsey Demands Report on Drug Tourism,' Seems to Be Itching For Crackdown

District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey is requesting an analysis of the home addresses of those arrested for drug-related offenses in San Francisco to determine how many are from out of town.

Despite increased law enforcement efforts, overdose deaths in San Francisco have continued to rise, indicating the need for alternative solutions. [ more ]

www.nytimes.com

San Francisco's Pro-Drug Culture

San Francisco's drug crisis has worsened over time, with the city's overdose death rate more than double the national average.

The city's culture has become more tolerant of drug use, leading to a pro-drug environment where people believe they can avoid the legal and social consequences of addiction. [ more ]

Axios

America's drug overdose crisis has profound ripple effects

More than 4 in 10 Americans know someone who died from overdose. The drug crisis has significantly affected millions. Overdose impacts have been underestimated. [ more ]

www.nytimes.com

Can San Francisco Solve Its Drug Crisis? Five Things to Consider.

San Francisco's drug crisis has outpaced the national average, with an overdose death rate more than double the national average.

Policy changes, such as the decriminalization of drug possession, have contributed to San Francisco's drug crisis. [ more ]

moredrug-crisis

www.npr.org

Mental health

In Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood, heroin is far from 'chic'

High number of overdose-related deaths in the U.S. in 2021

Impact of opioid epidemic on families and communities [ more ]

fentanyl

time.com

More People Die After Smoking Drugs Than Injecting Them

Smoking has surpassed injecting as the most common way of taking drugs in U.S. overdose deaths.

Smoking fentanyl is somewhat less deadly than injecting it, but both methods carry a substantial overdose risk. [ more ]

Los Angeles Times

Opinion: 'Just say no' can kill kids. Teach them how to stay safe in the fentanyl era

Fentanyl has caused an increase in overdoses among teens, killing an average of 22 every week in the US.

Fatal overdoses among US teens aged 14-18 reached an all-time high in 2022. [ more ]

New York Post

NYC politics

Gov. Hochul needs to declare state emergency over NY opioid deaths: Staten Island pols

A bipartisan task force in Staten Island is urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to declare a public health emergency to address the opioid crisis in New York.

The task force issued a report with recommendations including stiffening penalties for drug peddlers, tightening bail laws, and increasing funding for harm reduction, education, and addiction prevention.

The report compares the opioid crisis to the challenge of the Marshall Plan and highlights the increasing presence of fentanyl in overdose deaths. [ more ]

morefentanyl

overdose deaths

www.independent.co.uk

5 months ago

Public health

US life expectancy rose last year, but it remains below its pre-pandemic level

U.S. life expectancy rose by more than a year in 2022, but is still lower than pre-pandemic levels.

COVID-19 was the driving factor in the decline of life expectancy in previous years.

The U.S. is also facing challenges with drug overdose deaths and suicides. [ more ]

Mission Local

5 months ago

Medicine

What addiction treatment works best? UCSF docs share

Psychostimulant overdoses have increased by 300% nationally from 2013 to 2019.

Positive reinforcement and contingency management are effective approaches to treating stimulant use disorder.

San Francisco is experiencing a surge in overdose deaths and is in need of new medicines and practices to combat the crisis. [ more ]

www.ocregister.com

5 months ago

Drug arrests plunge, overdose deaths soar in California: Connection or coincidence?

Proposition 47 in California reduced many drug-related offenses from felonies to misdemeanors, leading to a significant decline in drug offense arrests.

Despite the decrease in drug offense arrests, drug overdose deaths have more than doubled in California between 2014 and 2022.

There is heated debate over whether the decline in arrests and increase in overdose deaths are related. [ more ]

KQED

6 months ago

SF Wants to Charge Drug Dealers With Homicide - But Could It Lead to More Overdose Deaths? | KQED

Efforts to increase punishments for drug dealers are increasing both locally and nationally.

San Francisco is following the lead of other counties in charging some drug dealers with homicide. [ more ]

moreoverdose deaths

www.cbc.ca

3 weeks ago

Canada news

1 in 4 deaths of Canadians age 22 to 39 in 2021 was opioid related in 2021, researchers find | CBC News

Opioid-related deaths in Canada doubled between 2019 and 2021, prompting a call for targeted harm-reduction policies. [ more ]

www.independent.co.uk

4 weeks ago

UK news

Deadly flesh-eating drug linked to at least 11 UK deaths

Xylazine, a deadly drug causing necrotic sores and overdoses, has infiltrated the UK market linked to 11 deaths.

The drug is being mixed with a variety of illicit substances in the UK, posing a significant public health threat. [ more ]

www.npr.org

How Portugal eased its opioid epidemic, while U.S. drug deaths skyrocketed

Portugal's approach to addiction focuses on healthcare and treatment, leading to a drastic decrease in fatal overdoses.

In Portugal, drug deaths are rare compared to the U.S., with a significant contrast in overdose rates between the two countries. [ more ]

www.npr.org

Does Portugal Have The Answer To Stopping Drug Overdose Deaths? : Consider This from NPR

Portugal's approach to treating drug addiction as an illness has led to extremely rare overdose deaths.

Decriminalization of small amounts of drugs and publicly funding addiction services are key components of Portugal's successful model. [ more ]

Axios

Smoking drugs now linked to more fatal overdoses than injections

Crime scene investigations show an increase in overdose deaths from smoking and a decrease in deaths from injection.

Over 109,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2022, with nearly 70% involving synthetic opioids. [ more ]

Sacramento Bee