Heroin No Longer The Deadliest Opioid

IN THE NEWS:  The opioid epidemic is ongoing.  While the CDC reports that opioid prescriptions dropped in 2015 for the first time since the crisis began, they also reported “overdose deaths caused by synthetic opioids has more than doubled from 2015.”  As of 2016, fentanyl and other synthetic opioids passed heroin as the leading cause of drug overdose death.

The easier production of synthetic drugs may be contributing to their rise.  Where heroin required access to the poppy flower as its primary ingredient, the synthetics do not require crop growth.  The concerns do not stop with the addictive aspects of the drug.  Much of the Fentanyl used in the U.S. was produced in China whose pharmaceutical industry is not well regulated or monitored.  In February, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission called China a “global source of illicit fentanyl.”

Many prescriptions for opioids not only alleviate pain, but also act as a gateway to other drugs. The medical community is taking steps to help people find safer alternatives.  With no risk of drug interaction or addiction, chiropractic is one of those options.  It is highly effective and cheaper than many of the traditional medical approaches for a number of conditions.  Talk to your doctor of chiropractic about how you can achieve pain relief without the high risks of opioids.

Watch the recent Nashville News Channel 5 report here: http://www.newschannel5.com/newsy/these-drugs-just-surpassed-heroin-as-the-deadliest-opioids-in-the-us