© AP
Recently, there has been much talk of various "epidemics" in America. The three most commonly mentioned are suicide, gun violence, and drug overdose. A close examination of the data, however, reveals two surprises: First, one of them is not actually an epidemic. Second, one of them is a much bigger epidemic than most people realize. (See chart.)
The "suicide epidemic" (red line) has received the most attention as of late. This is for good reason. At a rate of 12.54 deaths per 100,000 Americans,
the suicide rate is at a 25-year high WISQARS) from 1999 to 2012, shows that the suicide rate over that period has increased by nearly 19.7%.
Similarly, school shootings and other mass killings result in highly partisan debates about the "gun violence epidemic." However, the CDC data does not show that this even is an epidemic. Instead, the homicide-by-firearm rate (purple line) has been declining from a high of 4.27 per 100,000 in 2006 to 3.76 per 100,000 in 2012, a roughly
12% drop. The average American is more than three times as likely to commit suicide than to be shot and killed.
The most shocking data are the deaths due to unintentional drug poisonings (green line). From 1999 to 2012, deaths by drug overdose increased from 4.00 per 100,000 to 10.54 per 100,000, a whopping 164% increase. While the suicide rate has slowly climbed over the past decade, the death rate from unintentional drug overdoses has skyrocketed. Indeed, the term "epidemic" was invented for trend lines like this. (Note: More detailed information on what exactly constitutes unintentional drug poisoning can be found in the ICD-10 under
codes X40-X49.)
It should be noted that accidental drug overdoses include far more people than just celebrities and gangbangers who snort cocaine and guzzle alcohol. Indeed,
a substantial proportion of overdoses are with prescription drugs, such as opioids (e.g., OxyContin, Vicodin) and benzodiazepines (e.g., Xanax, Valium, Ativan). Additionally, as reported this week in an article appropriately titled "
The Great American Relapse," The
Economist notes that heroin is making a comeback. Deaths from heroin overdoses have doubled from 2010 to 2012 as opioid painkiller addicts forgo expensive prescription meds for cheaper heroin from the street.
As it turns out,
our society's habit of reaching for the medicine cabinet for every (heart)ache and pain is quite literally killing us.
The explosive growth in the number of deaths due to unintentional drug overdoses is nothing short of a national emergency. Yet, the phenomenon gets very little attention in the popular press. Unfortunately for our highly medicated society, this is one problem that we cannot solve by popping more pills.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Accessed: 23-Nov-2014.
is as selective, and ineffective as the war on terror. I've witnessed five people destroyed by chemicals in the past twenty years and it was all due to prescription medication abuse. Certainly there are hard-core druggies who would ingest almost anything if there were a buzz to be had but that does not include my five friends or the millions of people who die by the hand of big pharma because Nancy Regan said 'Just say no to drugs'.
Her program and that sort of brainwashing means that the less deadly, natural healing compounds have been outlawed around the world. I wonder if there was any benefit to her and her family for allowing big pharma to take over from street gangs the sale of addicting opioids?
No, I'm not really down on Nancy because I believe her intent was (mostly) sincere. I'm down on the men and women (some in my own family) who continue to work with big pharma and know full well the devastation their products bring to families and communities. If it's not addictive opioids or dopamine replacements they sell with a wink and a nudge, then its useless cancer drugs that do more harm than good but hey, it's money. Right?
I've watched in horror the attitude displayed by a family member who is working his way up the corporate ladder at "XYZ" Pharma and I fully realize that the 'sociopath' and 'psycopath' traits are invaluable in that climb. Heck, I bet the cancer drugs he is pushing on his own father do nothing but improve some quota he has been assigned but in his narrow field of view he is a family hero for the effort.
I suppose there are three types of people born; those who instinctively know 'right from wrong' and act accordingly, those who must be told what is right or wrong and then act according to their instructions, and those who just don't care either way. I feel far safer in a world comprised of the former and the latter because those people without enough moral fortitude to make their own decisions fall prey to the ever welcoming 'military/industrial group think' which quickly turns them into single-minded zombies who will take your life because they've been told it's for the greater good.
This is a symptom, not the disease itself. To rid the world of this 'disease of concience' we have to kill the host body but, like the movies, you must kill a lot of zombies before you find the host. Pass me that baseball bat and we can get started...