A study of over 1 million urine drug tests from across the United States shows soaring rates of use of methamphetamines and fentanyl, often used together in potentially lethal ways. The drug test results came primarily from clinics dealing with primary care, pain management or substance abuse disorders. The results showed that between 2013…
Meth Causes More Overdoses Than Any Other Drug in Western States
Methamphetamine caused more overdose deaths than any other drug in western states in 2017, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nationwide, fentanyl remains the most common cause of drug overdoses, The Wall Street Journal reports. Meth was the fourth-leading cause of drug overdoses nationally.…
Preference for fentanyl higher among young, white, frequent opioid users
A minority of people who use illicit opioids indicated a preference for fentanyl, the super-potent synthetic opioid that accounts for much of the recent rise in U.S. overdose deaths, according to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The study, based on…
Fentanyl Most Commonly Used Drug Involved in Overdose Deaths
Fentanyl was involved in almost 29 percent of all overdose deaths in 2016, making it the most commonly used drug involved in overdose fatalities, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rate of drug overdose deaths involving fentanyl jumped by about 113 percent each year…
Newly Approved Opioid 10 Times Stronger Than Fentanyl
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new opioid painkiller that is 10 times stronger than fentanyl, USA Today reports. The drug, Dsuvia, is also 1,000 times more potent than morphine. It will be restricted to limited use only in health care settings, such as hospitals, emergency rooms and surgery…