Prescription Drug Deaths Jump to Record Highs: 273 Fatalities in San Diego Last Year

addiction recovery ebulletin prescription drug deaths hit record high

Careless or Co-Opted? –

Oct 26, 2018 – Nolan was a featured speaker at Friday’s unveiling of the county’s annual update on drug-related death trends. She spoke tearfully about her son Jerry’s 2008 overdose death. Nolan also told parents that it’s very hard to detect the early signs of prescription drug abuse. She counseled them to prepare for a long, difficult and sometimes unsuccessful effort to help a loved-one beat their addiction. “And if you think recovery is as simple as a30-day rehab, it is not,” Nolan said. “My husband and I sent Jerry to rehab four times in a year and a half,” only to see him ultimately defeated by his addiction. In San Diego county, prescription drug deaths increased 8 percent last year to a total of 273 fatalities. While deaths from heroin actually decreased, the synthetic opioid fentanyl killed many more addicts. According to the drug abuse report card, 84 people died from fentanyl overdoses last year compared to 33 deaths in 2016. Fentanyl is especially dangerous, because it’s 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and at least 25 times stronger than heroin.