The Wall Street Journal looks at the rising death toll from fentanyl-laced pills sold on the illegal drug market, concluding that the nation’s illicit drug supply has become more toxic and dangerous than ever before. A record number of fatal overdoses—more than 100,000 fatal overdoses in the 12-month period ending in April—are being fueled by the bootleg fentanyl, which is made mainly by Mexican drug cartels and is now present in all corners of the country. Increasingly, it shows up in fake pills for medications such as oxycodone, which are now harder to obtain, as well as anti-depressants, and are taken by people who believe they are consuming less-potent drugs. Overdoses from a combination of drugs including cocaine and methamphetamines and fentanyl are also on the rise. Users who have no tolerance for opioids often end up ingesting a high dose of potent fentanyl, which kills quickly and cannot be detected.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration is moving ahead with efforts to expand harm-reduction programs such as supervised syringe sites, publishing a draft model law for states to follow to expand access to these facilities. Noting that the availability of such programs is limited, due mostly to legal issues and outdated legislation, the White House is putting its weight behind harm reduction as a way to reduce overdose deaths. The law says that required components of these laws must directly provide, or offer referrals to, services for substance use disorder treatment. Supervised syringe sites are critical to saving lives, but they are not by themselves the solution to the addiction and overdose crisis. Some studies show that such sites can increase the chances of an individual entering treatment, but the evidence is not conclusive.
And finally, there’s another good reason not to take up vaping addictive e-cigarettes: a new study finds that healthy men between the ages of 20 and 65 who vaped nicotine were more than twice as likely to report experiencing erectile dysfunction. The association held true even for men without any other health concerns or habits connected to sexual dysfunction. This is concerning, the report pointed out, due to the epidemic of teen vaping in the U.S., as more than 2 million middle- and high school kids say they use e-cigarettes.