What's
Driving the Opioid Crisis?
By now, most have heard about the deadly opioid epidemic that has
struck our nation.
According to data compiled in a
Kaiser Family Foundation report, there were 42,249 casualties in 2016 related
to opioids. This is double the 21,089 reported in 2010.
For a little perspective, given
all the attention guns are getting these days, per the FBI, in 2015 there were
13,455 murders, 9,616 committed with firearms.
What is driving this opioid
crisis?
According to a recent report about
opioids by the Social Capital Project, organized in the U.S. Senate, "the
oversupply and abuse of legal prescription pain relievers is at the heart of
the crisis."
This has led to action in
Washington with legislation such as the Opioid Addiction Prevention Act, which
would impose limits on opioid painkiller prescriptions.
However, Dr. Sally Satel, a
psychiatrist and lecturer at Yale University School of Medicine and resident
scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., challenges
this picture, which she calls "a false narrative."
According to Satel, data show
"that only a minority of people who are prescribed opioids for pain become
addicted to them, and those who do become addicted and who die from painkiller
overdoses tend to obtain these medications from sources other than their own
physicians. Within the past several years, overdose deaths are overwhelmingly
attributable not to prescription opioids but to illicit fentanyl and heroin.
These 'street opioids' have become the engine of the opioid crisis in its
current, and most lethal form."
Satel acknowledges the problem of overprescribed opioid painkillers being
diverted to people other than the intended patient, but she doesn't see this as
the core of today's crisis.
Furthermore, we don't want to get
into a situation where doctors are intimidated from prescribing, or prevented
from prescribing, painkillers that are justifiably needed.
I believe Satel zeroes in on the
real heart of the crisis when she says, "What we need is demand-side
policy. Interventions that seek to reduce the desire to use drugs, be they
painkillers, or illicit opioids."
Here, I see an interesting
parallel to the gun debate.
That is, the center of the deadly
problem is with the disturbed user or perpetrator, rather than with the
instrument -- whether it is a gun or a drug. The instrument is the result
rather than the cause.
The first impulse, particularly in
a highly materialistic and secular culture like ours, is to see the problem in
the thing rather than the person, because that's the easiest approach.
Looking at the demographics of the
opioid crisis, a number of flashing lights emerge.
First, the perpetrators are
disproportionately men (another parallel with the gun issue). Of the 42,249
opioid related deaths in 2016, 67 percent were men.
Also, as reported by the Social
Capital Project, opioid casualties are disproportionately not married. In 2015,
"never married and divorced individuals made up about 32 percent of the
population but accounted for 71 percent of all opioid overdose deaths."
And opioid casualties appear
disproportionately among the least educated. In 2015, "40 percent had no
more than a high school diploma or equivalent, but they accounted for 68
percent of all opioid overdose deaths."
As policy makers in Washington and
in state and local governments attempt to address this opioid crisis, looking
to the usual policy tools like government programs and government spending, I
think it's worth considering that what we're seeing may reflect a spiritual,
cultural crisis.
There's a price to be paid when a
society forsakes the spiritual for the purely material and when traditional
institutions such as marriage and family are abandoned. It could be that as
family and marriage break down, the first victims of this abandonment of spirit
and tradition are our young men.
Heroin Addicted Baby Dies After 9 Days — Mom Gets 30 Years in Prison
Photo: Baltimore Police Department
A Maryland judge sentenced a mother whose baby was born addicted to heroin to 30 years in prison for the death of her son on Monday. The newborn boy suffered a traumatic brain injury, had rarely been fed during his nine days of life, and was most likely born addicted to heroin.
Anne Kirsch, 37, of Baltimore gave birth to Matthew Kirsch Jr. in October 2015, at work in the repair bay of an auto repair shop, the Baltimore Sun reported.
Prosecutors told the jury that the baby boy was apparently born with a heroin addiction and had to suffer from the excruciating effects of withdrawal, the local newspaper stated. Kirsch admitted that she used heroin when she was pregnant as well as the night before her son died. The infant also suffered from malnutrition and physical abuse.
An autopsy revealed the child had “a traumatic brain injury consistent with having his head slammed against a flat surface,” the local publication reported. The doctors who examined him also said his stomach was empty and that he died after being abused and neglected.
The judge convicted Kirsch of child abuse and manslaughter last year. In a related case, the court sentenced Matthew Kirsch, Sr. (39) to 15 years in prison last July after he pleaded guilty to child abuse resulting in death. If he violates the terms of his release, he will receive an additional 10 years in prison. Anne Kirsch will receive an additional 45 years in prison if she violates the terms of her release.
The state attorney for Baltimore said in a released statement: “My heart breaks that this child suffered through nine days of heroin withdrawals, blunt force trauma, and starvation.” Marilyn Mosby added, “Both parents had an obligation to ensure the safety and well-being of the life they chose to bring into this world.”
Last November, Breitbart News reported that Mexican drug cartel super-labs that increase the purity of illegal drugs, including heroin, and a prescription painkiller epidemic was driving up overdose death rates in California. The Los Angeles Times reported that the heroin in San Diego County is transported there exclusively from Mexico. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reported that testing of the drug in laboratories showed that Mexican powder heroin is extremely pure. Mexican cartels illegally import methamphetamine, fentanyl, and marijuana as well as heroin. Heroin supplies from the East Coast are usually trafficked in from China.
Breitbart Texas’ Editor-in-Chief Brandon Darby and journalist Ildefonso Ortiz reported in late October that Mexican drug cartels continue to be the greatest criminal threat to our country. The DEA reported that they are largely to blame for the current opioid epidemic in the United States.
Drug overdose is now the leading cause of death for citizens in the United States under the age of 50, Breitbart News reported. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that more than 500,000 Americans died from drug overdoses during a 15 year period and “the opioid overdose epidemic is worsening.” During 2013 to 2014, heroin overdoes in the country increased by 26 percent and have tripled since 2010.
Last week, Breitbart Texas reported that according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the database at the National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that there have been more than 64,000 overdoses in 2016. The sharpest increase in drug overdose deaths in America has been caused by fentanyl and fentanyl analogs (synthetic opioids). The U.S. Department of Justice is now targeting opioid manufacturers and distributors who use false, deceptive, or unfair marketing to promote these extremely addictive drugs.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX, Gab, and Facebook.
JUDICIAL WATCH:
“The greatest criminal threat to the daily lives of American citizens are the Mexican drug cartels.”
“Mexican drug cartels are the “other” terrorist threat to America. Militant Islamists have the goal of destroying the United States. Mexican drug cartels are now accomplishing that mission – from within, every day, in virtually every community across this country.” JUDICIALWATCH
*
“Mexican authorities have arrested the former mayor of a rural community in the border state of Coahuila in connection with the kidnapping, murder and incineration of hundreds of victims through a network of ovens at the hands of the Los Zetas cartel. The arrest comes after Breitbart Texas exposed not only the horrors of the mass extermination, but also the cover-up and complicity of the Mexican government.”
*
“Heroin is not produced in the United States. Every gram of heroin present in the United States provides unequivocal evidence of a failure of border security because every gram of heroin was smuggled into the United States. Indeed, this is precisely a point that Attorney General Jeff Sessions made during his appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on October 18, 2017 when he again raised the need to secure the U.S./Mexican border to protect American lives.” Michael Cutler …..FrontPageMag.com
THE MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS OPERATING IN AMERICA’S OPEN BORDERS
Overall, in the 2017 Fiscal Year, officials revealed that a record-breaking 455,000 pounds plus of drugs had already been seized. In 2016, that number amounted to 443,000 pounds. The 2017 haul is worth an estimated $6.1 billion – BREITBART – JEFF SESSION’S DRUG BUST ON SAN DIEGO
THE GRUESOME VIOLENCE OF THE MEXICAN…
over, under and in our open borders.
http://mexicanoccupation.blogspot.com/2018/03/san-antonio-texas-staggering-violence.html
WHO WILL RID US OF THE
INVADERS?
JUDICIAL WATCH:
“The greatest criminal threat to the
daily lives of American citizens are the Mexican drug cartels.”
“Mexican drug cartels
are the “other” terrorist threat to America. Militant Islamists have the goal
of destroying the United States. Mexican drug cartels are now
accomplishing that mission – from within, every day, in virtually every
community across this country.” JUDICIALWATCH
*
“Mexican authorities have arrested the former mayor of a
rural community in the border state of Coahuila in connection with the
kidnapping, murder and incineration of hundreds of victims through a network of
ovens at the hands of the Los Zetas cartel. The arrest comes after Breitbart
Texas exposed not only the horrors of the mass extermination, but also the
cover-up and complicity of the Mexican government.”
*
“Heroin is not produced in the United
States. Every gram of heroin present in the United States provides unequivocal
evidence of a failure of border security because every gram of heroin was
smuggled into the United States. Indeed,
this is precisely a point that Attorney General Jeff Sessions made during his
appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on October 18, 2017
when he again raised the need to secure the U.S./Mexican border to protect
American lives.” Michael Cutler …..FrontPageMag.com
OBAMA’S OPEN BORDERS
SOARING DEATH IN AMERICA: MEXICO
DELIVERS THE HEROIN.
MEX WITH 37 CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS FINALLY DEPORTED… wonder
if he’s back looting already???
more at this link:
In FY
2012, ICE says it removed 409,849
illegal aliens. Fifty-five percent of
them (or 225,390) were convicted criminal aliens, the largest number of
criminal aliens removed in agency history, ICE said.
WALL STREET TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE: DIE YOUNG…
your company pension dies with you!
OPIOID AND ALCOHOL ADDICTION KILLS OF MIDDLE
AMERICA
SOARING
POVERTY AND DRUG ADDICTION UNDER OBAMA
"These
figures present a scathing indictment of the social order that prevails in America,
the world’s wealthiest country, whose government proclaims itself to be the
globe’s leading democracy. They are just one manifestation of the human toll
taken by the vast and all-pervasive inequality and mass poverty.
AMERICA UNRAVELS:
Millions of children go hungry as the super- rich gorge themselves
and ILLEGALS SUCK IN BILLIONS IN WELFARE!
*
"The top 10 percent of Americans now own roughly
three-quarters of all household wealth."
http://mexicanoccupation.blogspot.com/2017/08/america-unravels-millions-of-children.html
*
"While
telling workers there is “not enough money” for wage increases, or to fund
social programs, both parties hailed the recent construction of the U.S.S.
Gerald Ford, a massive aircraft carrier that cost $13 billion to build,
stuffing the pockets of numerous contractors and war profiteers."
MEXICO: AMERICA’S DRUG DEALER!
OBAMA-CLINTONOMICS to serve the filthy
rich
The same period has seen a massive growth of social inequality,
with income and wealth concentrated at the very top of American society to an
extent not seen since the 1920s.
“This study follows reports
released over the past several months documenting rising mortality rates among
US workers due to drug addiction and suicide, high rates of infant mortality,
an overall leveling off of life expectancy, and a growing gap between the life
expectancy of the bottom rung of income earners compared to those at the top.”
THE LA RAZA MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS REMIND
AMERICANS (Legals) THAT THERE IS NO (REAL) BORDER WITH NARCOMEX!
SHOCKING IMAGES OF CARTELS ON U.S. BORDERS:
“Heroin is not produced in the United
States. Every gram of heroin present in the United States provides unequivocal
evidence of a failure of border security because every gram of heroin was
smuggled into the United States. Indeed,
this is precisely a point that Attorney General Jeff Sessions made during his
appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on October 18, 2017
when he again raised the need to secure the U.S./Mexican border to protect
American lives.” Michael Cutler …..FrontPageMag.com
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