A Boomer at Risk: Aging Boomers Overdosing at High Rates...

[drusso]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/aging-baby-boomers-bring-drug-habits-into-middle-age-1426469057?mod=e2fb

"Opiates are the drug that is most frequently landing boomers in treatment, according to federal data that tracks admissions to centers that receive some public funding. In 2012 for those aged 45-64, 36% of admissions for drugs were for heroin, with an additional 12% for opioid painkillers, followed by 22% for crack cocaine, and 10% for methamphetamines."

...

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[lobelsteve]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/aging-baby-boomers-bring-drug-habits-into-middle-age-1426469057?mod=e2fb

"Opiates are the drug that is most frequently landing boomers in treatment, according to federal data that tracks admissions to centers that receive some public funding. In 2012 for those aged 45-64, 36% of admissions for drugs were for heroin, with an additional 12% for opioid painkillers, followed by 22% for crack cocaine, and 10% for methamphetamines."

...

36% heroin
22% crack
12% Rx opiate
10% methamph.

So they are 3x more likely to abuse heroin and almost 2x more likely to abuse cocaine. Good take home message, we are not the problem nor the answer.

 

[Ducttape]

So they are 3x more likely to abuse heroin and almost 2x more likely to abuse cocaine. Good take home message, we are not the problem nor the answer.

i wouldnt be so hasty to come to that conclusion. further on in the article:

Experts say the drug problem among older Americans has been brought on because a generation with a predilection for mind-altering substances is growing older in an era of widespread opioid analgesic abuse. Opioid analgesics are the drug most often involved in overdoses, followed by antianxiety medication, cocaine, and heroin.

elsewhere, it has been reported that middle aged heroin users are not starting with heroin as their first drug of abuse - they migrate to heroin after initially starting on prescription opioids.

 

[emd123]

36% heroin
22% crack
12% Rx opiate
10% methamph.

So they are 3x more likely to abuse heroin and almost 2x more likely to abuse cocaine. Good take home message, we are not the problem nor the answer.

Shows addicts will find their source once one is shut down, no matter what anyone does.

Reality: We absolutely will be able to reduce Rx opiate abuse with decreased prescribing and increased monitoring, which I think we have the responsibility to do. But we will not be able to decrease drug abuse as a whole. They will get there's, somewhere, someway, somehow.