>

Tobacco. Tobacco kills more people every year than all other drugs, car crashes, alcohol, and guns *combined*.
When a few friends and acquaintances died in the early 90s (in Seattle ...) I was shocked to discover that overdose deaths nationally were only ~6k/year.   D.A.R.E. lied!
Now I am shocked that direct drug related deaths are significantly higher than suicide and homicide. >

One makes a lot of money for wallstreet. That's why you don't hear about it. >

This is slight over 293 people per day. >

Slightly over 1 person every 5 minutes. >

Half of a person every 150 seconds >

r/didthemath >

My dad was one of those numbers😞 >

As was my fiancé. I'm sorry you had to suffer your loss. I hope you're holding up OK and know you're not alone in this. >

I hope you are doing the same, it’s just rougher around the holidays >

I feel that. The hurt never really goes away completely but it does get easier. Stay well, friend. >

My brother-in-law OD'd (and passed away) from canned air duster 3 months ago. It was going on for 10 years. >

i didn't even know that was a thing.  i remember hearing about people huffing paint cans, spray into a bag and wait for the paint to settle... wtf people will put in their bodies to get high.
did he survive? >

No, he passed away. Intoxication Difluorothane is listed as the cause of death. >

Jeez.  
My condolences. >

My good friend died last week from overdose. I miss her… She was addicted to various drugs and was in and out of treatment this past decade, she became an addict as a teenager. I thought she was doing well this year, she seemed to be doing okay, but all it takes is one bad day. I don’t know the substance, but she wouldn’t be my first friend to die from accidental fent overdose. >

Lost a girlfriend to opiates just before the pandemic started. She had two years clean. She didn't realize how much street drugs could change over that time. She went back once, and it killed her immediately. >

Frequent users build up tolerance and when people slip up after being clean for awhile, they often don’t realize that they don’t have the tolerances to handle the amounts that they used to take anymore >

Add in fent to the mix for returning addicts and its a recipe for disaster. I used to do alot of drugs (never heroin / meth but i knew enough people who did) and just a decade ago there was not this rampant problem with fent being in opiates left and right, and accidentally winding up in tons of other drugs as well. My brother recently had 3 kids over his house that were doing coke all OD, their coke was cut with fent of course, even though fent is the complete fucking opposite effect wise of coke. This seriously like never happened back when i was more involved with drugs, and its happened 3 times to my younger brothers friends just this year. Its fucking insanity. 
If an addict who had been clean years fell back into the cycle theres a good chance they just get fent instead of what they wanted, and boom theyre dead. No one using coke, or ketamine for example (2 powder drugs that shouldnt be, but are being found cut with fent) is going to even think to have narcan on hand for emergencies since theyre not expecting to get opiates in place of them. >

This is why if you’re using - or around people who are - to go ahead and keep narcan on hand.  
I don’t use drugs - but in my car, in my backpack, and at home I have it, because I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.   I work in healthcare and have treated my fair share of opiate ODs…it’s only a matter of time until I have to when I’m not working - either a friend or someone I come across.
It’s available for free, and can save a life.  It’s worth looking into >

my son is a social worker, carries narcan everywhere he goes (he works with the down and out) >

Does everyone know motorcycles are dangerous? Thought that stereotype went away decades ago. Like worse than cars but we all accept thise fatalities without a second glance... >

People drive like idiots around here so motorcycle fatalities eventually become a normal conversation piece with most people I know. Even a motorcycle cop was run over a few years ago. But I didn't realize that the deaths are that low. I wonder if its because bikers are very careful or not many people ride bikes in comparison to other statistics akin to those who die in general aviation (personal aircraft) crashes at 332 in 2020. >

As a number of papers have found (notably by Ruhm), Raw overdose death rates are under reports. It’s just the nature of death certificate data that the CDC has access to.
It truly is an epidemic. I have a paper highlighting how areas with more doctors see more opioid prescriptions, but areas with fewer healthcare resources have fewer.
It’s just so hard. PDMP’s and pill mill laws are not very effective, other substance legalization (marijuana) has a minor impact, but nothing is working well. >

There's probably nothing that can be done about people who already started down this path. All we can really do is have economic and social programs that prevent new people from entering. People need decent jobs so they can function in society like normal people, basically. >

Recovering heroin addict. If I didn't have the support and job I do that let's ne work one day a week and still afford rent I would 100% be homeless and or dead. People have no idea the resources, will power and time it takes to get off this shit. People with less fortunate situations I just don't think it's possible. And for already homeless or mentally disadvantaged it's straight up impossible with the current system we have in place. It's fucked >

keep it up. never give in. never give up.  i get all emotional when i hear about recovering addicts.  i have my own demons that i have also slayed, but they lurk... oh they lurk, they are only half dead forever. >

Just for a bit of perspective, over 400,000 people die every year in the US to a toxic and highly addictive drug. It is legal and sold in almost every store in America. >

High fructose corn syrup?
Sugar is indeed highly addictive legal drug.