America’s drug problem now 10 times worse than in 1971 the year it declared a war on drugs – NEWS.com.au

A look at the painkiller abuse that's now reached epidemic levels in the US, and could also be heading for Australia.

Americas war against opioids is being lost, and many people as well as authorities are deeply concerned. Picture: Brad Horrigan/The Hartford Courant

THE United States is experiencing a drug addiction crisis of rare proportions.

An estimated 2.6 million people are hooked on prescription opioid painkillers like oxycodone and hydrocodone, or on heroin and fentanyl, an extremely potent synthetic opioid.

The Straits Times reports that of the 2900 babies born last year in Cabell County, West Virginia, 500 had to be weaned off opioid dependence. So severe is the addiction in Ohio, that counties have been renting refrigerated trailers to store the mounting number of bodies of overdose victims.

The website reports that 33,000 people died from opioid overdose in the US last year, including 10 people last Friday in Florida where Donald Trump spends a lot of his spare time.

There are now 10 times the level of drug-related deaths than in 1971 when America first declared its war on drugs.

Michael Jackson became addicted to painkillers after being caught in an on-stage fire in 1984. Picture: AFP/Kevin MazurSource:AFP

Former heroin addict Courtney Love lost custody of her daughter in 2003 after claims she overdosed on painkiller OxyContin. Picture: AFP/Max NashSource:AFP

Veteran comic Jim Carrey was sued last year for allegedly procuring drugs under a bogus name for his ex-girlfriend, who died of an overdose. Picture: AFP/Justin TallisSource:AFP

Last week lawyer Paul Farrell filed a lawsuit for Cabell County, and neighbouring counties, seeking damages from drug companies for fuelling the addiction epidemic.

My community is dying on a daily basis, Mr Farrell told straitstimes.com.

Every sixth baby born locally suffers from neonatal abstinence syndrome, in which a mothers addiction is passed on to her child.

The hospital has to rock these babies 24 hours a day as they scream their way through addiction, he said.

What were asking for is not only to hold (the firms) responsible for blatantly violating federal and state laws, but also to fix the damage they caused, so that we stop creating another generation of addicts, he said.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio recently announced a new plan to cut addiction, after the citys overdose death toll hit 1075 last year.

The pharmaceutical industry for years has encouraged the overuse of addictive painkillers, said Mr de Blasio.

The surge in deaths follows a shift in the nature of the crisis. After the Drug Enforcement Agency last year ordered a 25 per cent cutback in the distribution of prescription opioids, addicts turned to heroin. But that drug is frequently cut with fentanyl, which has caused even more overdoses.

Everybody is starting to see a slowdown of prescription opiates. As you see supply drop, what we are seeing is an equal rise in heroin, said Mr Farrell.

We are going to see an all-time-high transition to heroin abuse in the next five years.

Sue Kruczeks 20-year old son Nick died of an overdose. Several US states are considering legislation to create a non-opioid directive that patients can put in their medical files. Picture: Brad Horrigan/The Hartford CourantSource:AP

SOME KEY FACTS

How many Americans are addicted to opioids?

In 2015, an estimated two million Americans were addicted to prescription opioid painkillers, and 591,000 to heroin. But the tightening of supplies of prescription opioids has sent many opioid addicts moving to heroin. Heroin producers and dealers in turn are increasingly cutting their drug with fentanyl, which is so potent that a minuscule amount can turn a standard heroin dose deadly.

Four out of five heroin users started out addicted to prescription opioids. Picture: AP/Elaine ThompsonSource:AP

How are prescription drugs and heroin use linked?

Experts say four out of five US heroin users started with prescription opioids like oxycodone and hydrocodone. A new study ties the likelihood of addiction to the amount and strength of the opioid painkiller first prescribed by a doctor. Patients who are given a prescription lasting more than three days, or who get a second prescription, or who are prescribed longer-lasting painkillers, are significantly more likely to be using the drug a year later.

How many people are dying from opioid overdoses?

The latest US data show that in 2015, 33,091 people died from overdoses tied to prescription opioids, heroin and fentanyl. That was up 15.5 per cent from the previous year, and four times the number of deaths in 1999. Experts say the surge continued last year.

Prince died from an overdose of painkillers, according to reports. Picture: AFP/Robyn BeckSource:AFP

Which states have the highest levels of overdose deaths?

The national average for opioid overdose deaths in 2015 was 10 for every 100,000 people. In West Virginia, the figure was 41.5 per 100,000; New Hampshire, 34.3 per 100,000; Kentucky and Ohio, 29.9 per 100,000; and Rhode Island, 28.2 per 100,000. Nineteen of 50 states saw significant increases in overdose deaths that year.

Meantime, a new cholesterol-slashing drug that has shown promise for high-risk patients does not impair brain function, according to a study out Saturday.

Previous research had raised the possibility that evolocumab, sold under the brand name Repatha by Amgen, may have a damaging effect on memory and cognitive function.

Evolocumab is part of a new class of cholesterol-lowering drugs called PCSK9 inhibitors, which dramatically lower bad cholesterol, or low-density lipoprotein (LDL).

The drug has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and death in patients who have severely clogged arteries or previous cardiac problems.

But it comes at a hefty price tag of more than $14,000 per year, raising concerns about how many patients could benefit.

Repatha cuts the chances of having a heart attack or some other serious problems by 15 to 20 per cent in a big study of people at high risk for those problems. Picture: Robert Dawson/AmgenSource:AP

Aiming to address questions about its cognitive effects, researchers at Brigham and Womens Hospital in collaboration with Brown University and the University of Geneva ran cognitive tests on nearly 2000 people enrolled in a two-year study of the drug.

Researchers assessed the executive function, working memory, episodic memory and psychomotor speed of patients at six, 12, and 24 months after starting treatment.

After an average of 19 months of treatment, our data show that changes in memory and cognitive function were very small and similar between patients treated with evolocumab and those treated with placebo, said Robert Giugliano, a cardiac doctor at BWH.

These data should reassure physicians and patients who may have had questions about the safety of this drug as it pertains to cognitive impairment. The research, funded by Amgen, was presented at the American College of Cardiology annual meeting in Washington.

Full results are expected to be published in a peer-reviewed journal in the coming months.

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America's drug problem now 10 times worse than in 1971 the year it declared a war on drugs - NEWS.com.au