CDC: US Opioid Crisis Getting Worse - "We Have An Emergency On Our Hands"




“We have an emergency on our hands,” says CDC Director Anne Schuchat. “The fast-moving opioid overdose epidemic continues and is accelerating.”

According to the report, opioid overdoses increased for both genders, in all age groups, and across all regions in the U.S.

From July 2016 through September 2017, opioid overdoses increased:

  • Men (↑30%) and women (↑24%)

  • People ages 25-34 (↑ 31%), 35-54 (↑36%), and 55 and over (↑32%)

  • Most states (↑ 30% average), especially in the Midwest (↑70% average)

SOURCE: CDC’s National Syndromic Surveillance Program, 52 jurisdictions in 45 states reporting.

Opioid overdoses continued to increase in cities and towns of all types: 

  • Non-core (non-metro): 21 percent increase

  • Micropolitan (non-metro): 24 percent increase

  • Small metro: 37 percent increase

  • Medium metro: 43 percent increase

  • Large fringe metro: 21 percent increase

  • Large central metro: 54 percent increase – Large and steady increase for large cities

SOURCE: CDC’s Enhanced State Opioid Overdose Surveillance (ESOOS) Program, 16 states reporting percent changes from July 2016 through September 2017.

Recent trends in opioid overdose emergency department (ED) visits provides a shocking view of this fast-moving epidemic: 



CDC provides three shocking statistics from the latest report indicating the opioid crisis is out of control: 

  • Opioid overdoses went up 30% from July 2016 through September 2017 in 52 areas in 45 states.
  • The Midwestern region witnessed opioid overdoses increase 70% from July 2016 through September 2017.

CBS News believes fentanyl could be the responsible actor in the recent surge of overdoses: 

The reasons for these increases are unclear, but officials say it may have to do with changes in the drug supply, including the availability of newer, highly toxic illegal opioids such as fentanyl, which has been spreading rapidly in recent years. Fentanyl, a synthetic drug that’s 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine, is often mixed in to make heroin more potent, leading many users to OD.  

It is all downhill from here, as the opioid crisis is now affecting most generations in all regions across the United States, which could be problematic for the US economy as millennials are set to dominate the most productive age segment of the US labor market.  Even the Federal Reserve has warned about the impact of the opioid crisis on productivity and the labor market.

But then again, DARPA, Silicon Valley, and Wall Street are quietly building an army of AI robots in the shadows, waiting for the moment America’s middle-class nose dives under the weight of the opioid crisis. So far, drug overdoses have managed to plunge the US life expectancy lower for two consecutive years, the last time this occurred it was 1963 and shortly after markets tumbled.


MK ULTRA Alpha pc_babe Thu, 03/08/2018 - 21:10 Permalink

It's just more evidence China is our friend. China always whined about the opium wars. It was used politically for the communist revolution. So it's payback, Imperial China died from opium being forced on the Chinese.

The Bush family, the Walker side was the Opium baron side, that's how the Bush family made their money. Go look it up.

After the America Civil War, the North dumped opium on the South, Bush Walker family further destroyed the South, sucking the last dime out. That is the history of the Bush Walker opium baron. The Bush house in Maine was built with this money. Look it up.

Great Britain and the US with the Bush family tagging along with the British to ship Opium from India to China. And also to the US South, from the Bush Walker family. (all of those mansions on the ocean in Maine were built by Opium barons)

So now China sends opioids through the mail to the US like the US shipped opium to China. China is our friend, right?

China has a long term collective memory, it's payback time for countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, for pushing the Chinese out, and for the West it's payback for the Opium wars.

Solution to save American lives, cut the China trade now, and let them kill each other as THEIR economy spins out of control. The US market is 18% of China's export market.

China actually copied Great Britain's mercantile imperialism to the letter and the fool Americans can't see. Just sing, "We are the world..." while we're being destroyed.

In reply to by pc_babe

tbd108 MK ULTRA Alpha Fri, 03/09/2018 - 01:38 Permalink

You have a number of interesting points however you completely neglect the fact that the US has spent a trillion dollars in Afghanistan to protect the poppy fields and the large heroin manufacturing plants located there. It isn't the Chinese that are doing us in ... "we have met the enemy and he is us" (Walt Kelly, the man behind Pogo)

In reply to by MK ULTRA Alpha

Ghostbusters kudocast Fri, 03/09/2018 - 05:17 Permalink

You my friend are a **cking twat.  

For the record, I neither feel represented by a political party nor a monotheistic religion but I did feel compelled to opine as there are so very many people like kudocast who are so devoid of any semblance of reality.  Any Republican that does not uphold the Constitution is every bit as much a traitor as any duplicitous Democrat but truth be told, they are on the same team.  Madeleine Albright  Hillary Rodham Clinton

Why don't you study up on the history of war and then report back on that Democratic party, of peace?  While you are at it have a look at slavery (democrats), women's rights (democrats were on the wrong side again), the war on poverty (LBJ only created more poverty), and perhaps you would like for me to carry on?   

If you don't like "Christards" or countries whose populations have a strong Christian cultural heritage then you ought to bugger off because here in reality, traditionally Christian countries have provided their citizens with some of the greatest attempts at liberty in contemporary history.  

Abortion? Please...

"The Church" used ignorant fools then just as the establishment uses ignorant fools today to fight their wars and create political opponents in order to further their agenda.  It seems you just might self-identify as one of those fools or a troll but either way, **ck off to mediocrity!  This is fight club you twit!

In reply to by kudocast

lester1 Kafir Goyim Thu, 03/08/2018 - 19:55 Permalink

It's a form of warfare. China manufacturers methamphetamines and highly addictive drugs very cheaply then ships it into the Mexico where it gets smuggled into the United States. It's designed to destroy our population!

In reply to by Kafir Goyim

NumbersUsa lester1 Thu, 03/08/2018 - 19:56 Permalink

"Hassidic link to drugs barons

Ultra Orthodox US Jews accused of 'cleaning' Colombian coke cartel cash




In reply to by lester1

PhilofOz dark pools of soros Thu, 03/08/2018 - 21:54 Permalink

Not so sure... had an opium smoking friend in the 70's that hid it a closet claiming the Hell's Angels had been through my parents home searching for him. Became bat-shit paranoid for months. I use 180 mg slow release morphine a day prescribed for back injury. Started at 80 mg 20 years ago. I get more psycho-active effect from half a glass of beer. Have tried Fentanyl patches for the same.... don't recommend at all, going from useless and ineffective to high as a kite and back again in a 24 hour period! Way too unpredictable!


In reply to by dark pools of soros

HRH of Aquitaine 2.0 N. B. Forrest Thu, 03/08/2018 - 20:42 Permalink

I agree. The lefties didn't do jack shit to really help my sister. They enabled her "lifestyle." What lifestyle was that? She had the first kid when she was 17. Not married, of course. Went on to have two more kids, each with a different father, one of whom was in prison for murder. Oh and she also got knocked up by a brother-in-law and had that one aborted. I am guessing that wasn't her only abortion, either.

I tried to help my sister when I learned she was using and leaving drugs on the dresser and had needles in her purse. I ended up being called the bad person because I thought her lifestyle was shitty and her choices were poor. They never improved. None of her poor choices got better. So when she died, at 45 fucking years old, wasted away from active HIV / AIDS, was anyone surprised? No. My single thought was what a way to waste your life. Of course she spawned three children without fathers, too.

In reply to by N. B. Forrest

HRH of Aquitaine 2.0 Shpedly Thu, 03/08/2018 - 21:26 Permalink

I am and I do pray for them. Long horrible story that hasn't ended.

If they want to get in touch with me, and get my side of the story, they could find me by paying $1 to spokeo or people finder. I keep hoping one of them might contact me.

It's funny how dysfunctional families operate. They have grown up hearing about how bad I am for so many years, they don't even realize there may be another side to the story. I am the only one of four siblings that owns a home, has a bachelor degree, is self employed (almost 20 years) and that has no children. You would think, considering I am the only one in the family with assets, they would want to get to know me, at least.

Apparently they heard I don't suffer fools. Hoping one of them is smart enough to open the door and engage. So far? Silence. No, they won't find me on Fuckbook. That might be the problem.

In reply to by Shpedly

YouJustCouldnt HRH of Aquitaine 2.0 Fri, 03/09/2018 - 05:13 Permalink

That's a real crappy event for you to have witnessed. I just wish there was some kind of law wherein drug addicts are forced to have a 5 year contraception device implanted  which can be removed if they can prove they have been drug free for one year. Like yourself, I've seen the sorrowful mess these drug addicts leave behind, and the way if affects the children left behind. 

In reply to by HRH of Aquitaine 2.0

Savyindallas N. B. Forrest Thu, 03/08/2018 - 23:31 Permalink

Fuck you. My 17 year old son OD'ed on heroin and almost died. He's now doing well and working as an electrician apprentice and is on his way to a good life. He was very successful and happy until he got caught up in the drug culture. Now he's recovered. A good many of these kids who die are from good families. many don't get the second chance my son did. In a less crooked, corrupt culture where the elites who own and control and profit from the addiction and corruption of our kids - we would not have this destruction of our youth. 

You can take your Neitschian survival of the fittest and shove it up your ignorant cold ass.  

Wait until it happens to your son or daughter or brother or sister. See if you have the same cavalier cold attitude. 

In reply to by N. B. Forrest

HRH of Aquitaine 2.0 Savyindallas Thu, 03/08/2018 - 23:37 Permalink

It has happened to me. But keep thinking you can rescue your little angel. One more rehab. You will bail them out, this one time. And pay for another rehab. And make more excuses. Until they are dead. For my sister, that took 28 years.

You need to figure out that tough love is the way to deal with addiction. Period. No excuses. You have to hold him accountable, 100% of the time. I can already tell by your comment that you let a lot of things slip, when you kid was younger. You made a lot of excuses. You still are. We don't know you from Jack. Never saw you post here before And you come onto this thread, not the first opiode thread, and act indignant? That someone is out to get your little angel? Fuck, look in the mirror. You are the reason your little angel is fucked up. It didn't happen overnight and, unless you set very clear boundaries and firm rules, along with lots of prayer, you had better pray your kid really has sobered up for the long term.

Tough road ahead, for you and your family. Making excuses isn't going to make that road easier.

In reply to by Savyindallas

PavlovPup HRH of Aquitaine 2.0 Fri, 03/09/2018 - 00:58 Permalink

Wow, no wonder your family doesn't look you up. You read all of that out his comment? I am sure you are right about some of these things, but you really come across as a mean fucked up person. I'm not a Christian, but I have read plenty of what Jesus had to say, and I would love to be in the room when you have to meet him. The way to deal with addiction is to find out the root cause, and deal with those issues. Why do you think AA and NA meet together to support each other and talk? I think you will probably die alone and lonely. I sincerely hope you don't, but I am really reaching deep down to find empathy for you. Bless you I guess, I hope you find some kindness to go along with your conviction.


In reply to by HRH of Aquitaine 2.0

HRH of Aquitaine 2.0 PavlovPup Fri, 03/09/2018 - 01:15 Permalink

This is fight club. I don't come here to use emotional blackmail on people. I come here to talk about real issues. Is it shock therapy? Yes. If I shocked you and made you mad and pissed you off? Good. That was my goal.

Again, stop making excuses for people. And for the record AA and NA are crutches. But you know, that is the modern thing. Recount your horrible life, complain about it to others, have them pat you on the back, and go back to the same old shitty pattern. Rinse. Repeat.

As for modern psychology? Ha! Stefan Molyneux had an excellent diatribe he posted earlier today, about Freud. About the whole scam. About how people are taught and allowed to be victims.

I don't really give a damn what some soy boy like you thinks about me.

In reply to by PavlovPup

Drop-Hammer PavlovPup Fri, 03/09/2018 - 12:27 Permalink

HRH is correct.  Taking illegal drugs or abusing legal drugs permanently alters the brain's biochemistry and the cells/neurons (receptors and the like) such that a drug addict never recovers and will always be an addict.  They can 'dry out' for a time, but will always return to the lifestyle and keep repeating the cycle until they OD or their brain/body poops out in their 50's or thereabouts.  I can tell you this from a sad family circumstance.

In reply to by PavlovPup

Savyindallas HRH of Aquitaine 2.0 Fri, 03/09/2018 - 01:42 Permalink

Stupidest most ignorant comment I have ever read on ZH. First of all, I've been a ZH member for 8 years. Posted maybe 1000 times. So don't lecture me about just showing up and posting out of the blue.

Your other comments about how I am making excuses and are responsible for my sons actions are complete idiocy. What in my post even suggests that?  

In reply to by HRH of Aquitaine 2.0

Shpedly Savyindallas Fri, 03/09/2018 - 00:27 Permalink

Your very fortunate. Our family didn't get a second chance, My youngest brother overdosed from chewing on transdermal Fentanyl patches. He was found in his rented house collapsed on the garage floor with an upright A-frame ladder next to him. The coroner said there was no telling what his motivation was to be where he was. "He was clearly out of his mind" I remember the coroner saying. I agreed. I have to say that the police and coroner were exceptionally empathetic and gracious. Perhaps out of deference to my devastated mother and retired Army father, the true cause of death wasn't written or spoken by the police or coroner. To this day, my mother still believes the coroner's cause of death as a natural heart attack. That is true but it was caused by an acute overdose. My brother was 28 years old. 

In reply to by Savyindallas

Abaco Savyindallas Fri, 03/09/2018 - 09:57 Permalink

I have  a similar story.  This isn't a story of shitty kids from shitty families.  This is a story of the Sackler family making billions pushing this shit and the federal government and the AMA standing by with a wink and a nod because they are all making a lot of money off of it.  Now they plan to make a lot of money fighting the crisis.  What you won't see is the Sackler's marched off to prison, their assets seized, and doctor's losing their asses for medical malpractice.

Thank God your son is alive.  I didn't experience the deaths of anyone I knew in high school.  My kids all know many, many kids who have died.

In reply to by Savyindallas

drendebe10 Kafir Goyim Thu, 03/08/2018 - 20:48 Permalink

CDC overpaid  bureaucrats - yadda yadda yadda. Opioids are a problem but tbese bureaucratic azzhoes probably overstate the problem and blow it out of proportion based on fabricated numbers on computer screens & pieces of paper. Didn't someone say some quote about statistics & lying?

In reply to by Kafir Goyim

iadr Shpedly Sat, 03/10/2018 - 09:12 Permalink

 You need to truly open your mind about hiring practices then.

Unfortunately, you are clearly hiring within a social strata, within a culture. You need to look outside it.

Look at hiring from a different race, look at where the other gender can fit, look at whether staff are coming from urban vs rural, fresh out of school, older. What is working for you now? is there a pattern of what works?

Set aside- not you, or just you, but throughout your company, any prejudice against the flip side to the education level you typically hire.  If you only hired college kids, look at unticketed  or vice versa. If you had a bias against college kids- if they graduated recently and show up for the interview, thats a excellent start. Supervise, or discuss with your supervisors, how you deal with "wet behind the ears" types so they will stay- and will be productive.

Check previously employers- use a cell, and figure out code words used. Check google on every applicants name, Facebook, who are they? Check state records if it's possible or economic in your area.  Assign someone trusted to do this whole screening for you.

Open your mind to that someone that smokes some weed can be a fine employee. Putting up noise about being a business that drugs tests is actually counterproductive. You have to be seen as fair and reasonable by staff and potential hires.

Bonus existing employees for finding good people- you know your competitors are having the same problem and if someone is clean and having to work with someone who isn't, they are ripe to join your company. You say it's the most important thing for you, but I'll put money on that you don't have the problem solving devoted to it that you have had for other key factors in the growth of your company. Or you are closed minded. And, I didn't say pay more, but sometimes...(?)

I live in an area that sees extreme swings with oil prices. We learn how to hire even when oil is $140+.  At such times Walmart had 60+ person lineups at the checkstands. I've been in this area my whole career and I am middle aged. Hiring for warehousing, mechanics, drivers, phone clerks, and also sitting in on some sales rep hiring and receptionist hiring. 


The realization hits you you were skimming off the easy hires in the past, now it's a challenge you have to change your company to meet.  I don't like change either, but that's life.


In reply to by Shpedly