Pain Pill Abuse in Milwaukee Leads to an Increase in Heroin OD Deaths.
Law enforcement in Waukesha county say that they're seeing a lot of pain pill addicts graduating to the heroin - which can be as little as 1/4 the price of OxyContin.
The Waukesha County medical examiner has seen 4 heroin overdose deaths already this year – last year, all year - there were only three.
Milwaukee Police account for the increase in heroin fatalities by explaining that they've seen an upward trend of pain pill abuse in the county. They say that Oxycontin and Hydrocodone users are moving on up to heroin as a means of saving money, or affording their daily needed high.
At the street level, a dose of OxyContin is about $40, while a dose of stronger than Oxy heroin is as little as $10 per hit.
More like this
Using Opiates in Massachusetts More Dangerous than Overseas Combat?
Mass. state drugs commission calls opiate use in the commonwealth an “epidemic” and to emphasize the point, compares the numbers of state citizens that die in overseas combat with those that die from drug overdoses – saying that drug overdoses cause 42 times more deaths.
Oregon Man Indicted on Manslaughter Charges After Friend Dies from Heroin Overdose
An Aloha Oregon man, who delayed getting his unresponsive housemate medical care so that authorities would not visit his drug filled house, has been indicted on manslaughter charges.
Opiate Overdoses Up Dramatically in Canada
The number of people in dying in Ontario Canada after overdosing on prescription medications has doubled since the 1990s.
Medical Group Warns that Common Heart Attack Medications Can Be Deadly for Cocaine Users
The American Heart Association has recommended that doctors start asking emergency room visitors complaining of chest pain, whether they had been using cocaine.
Prescription Drug Overdose Deaths Skyrocket in Florida - Experts Blame Storefront Pain Clinics
Opiate pain medications caused 33% more overdose fatalities in 2008 than in 2007 – Experts point to Florida laws that allow for the easy prescribing of these potent medications. The top 25 oxycodone prescribing doctors in America are all Floridians.