Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #overdoses
Most recents (3)
.@NBCJoshua Illegal, not medical, #opioid use fuels ODs, which have risen exponentially since at least 1979, predating more liberal prescribing patterns. Addiction & use aren't rising: people are taking increasingly lethal drugs & combinations of drugs. /thread 
.@TheWeekMSNBC "Overprescription" isn't "fueling the OD crisis." @AmericanCancer says #addiction in medical use is "very rare." #CDC Guideline is based on an average 96% unremarkable use; 4% includes nonaddictive misuse & long use. Large studies put addiction rate under 1%. 2/
Canada's Guideline: 96.7% unremarkable use; 3.3% includes nonaddictive misuse & abuse, in keeping w/ #CDC's Guideline. Brat et al. found a 99.4% rate of unremarkable use in more than 1 million post-op opioid scripts. 0.6% included people who refilled their scripts (BMJ 2018). 3/
Yearly since 2012, #opioid prescriptions have hit all-time lows as #overdoses hit all-time highs. Here's why:
1>#Addiction thru medical use is "very rare" (@AmericanCancer Society).
2>Multiple studies show stopping/tapering rx #opioids *increases* the risk of OD or #suicide.
1>#Addiction thru medical use is "very rare" (@AmericanCancer Society).
2>Multiple studies show stopping/tapering rx #opioids *increases* the risk of OD or #suicide.
#CDC had to get #squirrely w/ data in 2013 to make it seem as tho #opioid scripts were fueling overdoses. Note they compare kilograms per 10,000 to ODs per 100,000 & literally fail to connect the dots when scripts fell in 2012.
#Opioid prescribing peaked 8 years ago, & drug overdoses are the #1 cause of death for Americans under 50. Denying or discontinuing medicine *increased* rates of #OD & #suicide.
Doctors & policymakers are killing people to "save" them from the "very rare" risk of #addiction.
Doctors & policymakers are killing people to "save" them from the "very rare" risk of #addiction.
1/6: Talking to PWUD and prescribers over the past few weeks I've learned there's a huge disconnect between #safesupply and what we can call pandemic prescribing
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2/6: Pandemic prescribing is providing pharmaceutical alternatives to street drugs to help reduce #overdose risk and let people isolate during #COVID. It's a life saving approach now, but it's not the long-term solution to the overdose crisis, #Safesupply is.
3/6: Offering drug users the least sought-after drugs through pandemic prescribing is playing it as safe as possible, it's the equivalent of providing an alcoholic with light beer when what they've been consuming is 40 proof liquor. It's not #Safesupply
