WLWT: New database highlights overdose death rates in every county in the U.S.. “WLWT’s news partner, Hearst-owned newspaper The San Francisco Chronicle, created a database tracking U.S. drug overdoses. The data comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were 32.3 overdose deaths for every 100,000 people in the United States in 2022.”
Tag Archives: fentanyl
KVUE: Texas DSHS launches fentanyl data dashboard
KVUE: Texas DSHS launches fentanyl data dashboard. “The dashboard reflects an expansion of data on fentanyl and other drug poisoning deaths published online by the DSHS. Texans can now access information that includes fentanyl-related deaths from 2014 to 2023, and the dashboard lets users view that data over time, by demographics or by geography.”
The Hill: DEA administrator says social media companies not complying to address fentanyl crisis
The Hill: DEA administrator says social media companies not complying to address fentanyl crisis. “Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Anne Milgram said Sunday that various social media companies are not complying with them to help address the ongoing fentanyl crisis.”
Iowa’s News Now: New Resource for Iowans to Learn about Emerging Drugs
Iowa’s News Now: New Resource for Iowans to Learn about Emerging Drugs. “The Iowa Office of Drug Control Policy (ODCP) unveiled a new website to educate Iowans about emerging substances for which there may be little or no regulation, such as Xylazine and Kratom. The new online resource also highlights the dangers of evolving illicit substances like fentanyl, counterfeit pills, and highly potent marijuana products.”
Texas Standard: Fentanyl’s rise, distribution tied to growth of social media
Texas Standard: Fentanyl’s rise, distribution tied to growth of social media. “According to an expert who studies drug trafficking, fentanyl is the new ‘social media drug’ and Mexican criminal groups are exploiting the technology to dominate the market – recruiting dealers in Texas to peddle the opioid.”
Colorado Sun: Social media apps have made buying illegal drugs about as convenient as ordering pizza, Colorado AG says
Colorado Sun: Social media apps have made buying illegal drugs about as convenient as ordering pizza, Colorado AG says. “The 182-page report outlined the ways in which drug dealers use aggressive marketing tactics to sell illegal drugs online, often targeting younger customers, and urged social media platforms and state legislators to enforce new policies to crack down on the sales.”
Bloomberg: FBI Examines Snapchat’s Role in Fentanyl Poisoning Deaths
Bloomberg: FBI Examines Snapchat’s Role in Fentanyl Poisoning Deaths. “Federal agencies are questioning Snapchat’s role in the spread and sale of fentanyl-laced pills in the US as part of a broader probe into the deadly counterfeit drugs crisis.”
Johns Hopkins University: Archive Shows How Fentanyl Promotion Helped Drive Opioid Epidemic
Johns Hopkins University: Archive Shows How Fentanyl Promotion Helped Drive Opioid Epidemic. “The Opioid Archive records released today—about 760,000 documents, mostly emails—show that Insys improperly sold vast amounts of its addictive product for off-label uses like non-cancer neck and back pain. The documents also bring to light how the company pressured doctors and deployed deceptive marketing to increase sales and earn millions of dollars in profits.”
New York Times: Fentanyl Tainted Pills Bought on Social Media Cause Youth Drug Deaths to Soar
New York Times: Fentanyl Tainted Pills Bought on Social Media Cause Youth Drug Deaths to Soar. “Much as drug dealers in the 1980s and ’90s seized on pagers and burner phones to conduct business covertly, today’s suppliers have embraced modern iterations — social media and messaging apps with privacy features such as encrypted or disappearing messages. Dealers and young buyers usually spot each other on social media and then often proceed by directly messaging each other. The platforms have made for a swift, easy conduit during the coronavirus pandemic, when demand for illicit prescription drugs has jumped, both from anxious, bored customers and from those already struggling with addiction who were cut off from in-person group support.”
Route Fifty: How the Pandemic Helped Spread Fentanyl Across the US and Drive Opioid Overdose Deaths to a Grim New High
Route Fifty: How the Pandemic Helped Spread Fentanyl Across the US and Drive Opioid Overdose Deaths to a Grim New High. “It is especially tragic that these deaths are mainly occurring in people with a disease – opioid addiction – that is both preventable and treatable. Most heroin users want to avoid fentanyl. But increasingly, the heroin they seek is mixed with fentanyl or what they purchase is just fentanyl without any heroin in the mix. While the spread of fentanyl is the primary cause of the spike in overdose deaths, the coronavirus pandemic also made the crisis worse.”
New York Times: Overdose Deaths Reached Record High as the Pandemic Spread
New York Times: Overdose Deaths Reached Record High as the Pandemic Spread. “In the 12-month period that ended in April, more than 100,000 Americans died of overdoses, up almost 30 percent from the 78,000 deaths in the prior year, according to provisional figures from the National Center for Health Statistics. The figure marks the first time the number of overdose deaths in the United States has exceeded 100,000 a year, more than the toll of car crashes and gun fatalities combined. Overdose deaths have more than doubled since 2015.”
NBC News: Snapchat boosts efforts to root out drug dealers
NBC News: Snapchat boosts efforts to root out drug dealers. “Snapchat has developed new tools and educational content to crack down on the sale of deadly counterfeit pills on the messaging app. These tools aim to warn users about the dangers of those pills in an effort to keep its community safe from the ‘devastating impacts of the fentanyl crisis,’ the company announced Thursday.”
Vice: Facebook Is Censoring Posts That Could Save Opioid Users’ Lives
Vice: Facebook Is Censoring Posts That Could Save Opioid Users’ Lives. “In its efforts to stop opioid sales on the site, Facebook appears to be blocking people who warn users about poisonous batches of drugs or who supply materials used to test for fentanyls and other contaminants. Just as 1990s web security filters mistook breast cancer research centers for porn sites, today’s internet still seems to have trouble distinguishing between drug dealers and groups trying to reduce the death toll from the overdose crisis. VICE reviewed screenshots and emails to corroborate the claims made in this story.”
Neowin: Major dark web drug suppliers voluntarily ban sales of deadly drug
Neowin: Major dark web drug suppliers voluntarily ban sales of deadly drug. “The UK’s National Crime Agency has announced that several major drug suppliers on the dark web have decided to voluntarily ban the sale of the deadly drug fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, due to the danger it poses. The sellers decided to pull the product off their dark websites as it could cause fatalities which they believe would cause them to receive more attention from the police.”
TechCrunch: Facebook cracks down on opioid dealers after years of neglect
TechCrunch: Facebook cracks down on opioid dealers after years of neglect . “Facebook’s role in the opioid crisis could become another scandal following yesterday’s release of harrowing new statistics from the Center for Disease Control. It estimated there were nearly 30,000 synthetic opioid overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2017, up from roughly 20,000 the year before. When recreational drugs like Xanax and OxyContin are adulterated with the more powerful synthetic opioid Fentanyl, the misdosage can prove fatal. Xanax, OxyContin and other pain killers are often bought online, with dealers promoting themselves on social media including Facebook.”