![]() ![]() " 4 In 1969, about 70 percent of all New York addict deaths were assigned the "overdose" label 5 and in 1970, the proportion was about 80 percent. "Prior to 1943, there were relatively few deaths among addicts from overdosage." 3 By the 1950s, however, nearly half of all deaths among New York City addicts were being attributed to "acute reaction to dosage or overdosage. Much of the discussion that follows is focused on New York City, since the deaths attributed to heroin overdose are most numerous there and since the New York City data are published in convenient form. There remains to be considered yet another risk of heroin addiction, the most publicized hazard of all-death from "heroin overdose." Because these deaths are a source of such widespread concern, and also because they are so widely misunderstood, even by authorities on heroin addiction and by addicts themselves, we shall examine the data in detail. And the laws restricting possession of injection equipment, under penalty of imprisonment, increase the risk of needleborne infections by encouraging the sharing of implements. Jaffe might have added, is one of the factors that makes intravenous injection "the preferred route of administration," for "mainlining" is the cheapest way to forestall withdrawal symptoms. The exorbitant price of black-market heroin, Dr. Jaffe continues, "there is sharing of implements of injection and a failure to employ hygienic technics, with a resultant high incidence of endocarditis, and hepatitis, and other infections." 2 The suicide rate among adult addicts is likewise considerably higher than that of the general population." 1īecause "the preferred route of administration is intravenous," Dr. The average annual death rate among young, adult heroin addicts is several times higher than that for nonaddicts of similar age and ethnic backgrounds. The high incidence of venereal disease reflects the occupational hazard of the many females who earn their drug money through prostitution. Jaffe has described some of these risks in Goodman and Gilman's textbook (1970): "Undoubtedly, the high cost and impurities of illicit drugs in the United States exact their toll. Narcotics addicts today face other physiological hazards that are traceable to the narcotics laws, to the adulteration, contamination, and exorbitant black-market prices that those laws foster, and to other legal and social (as distinct from pharmacological) factors. The "heroin overdose" mystery and other occupational hazards of addictionĬhapter 4 of this Report reviewed in detail the effects of heroin and other opiates on addicts, including deleterious physiological effects traceable to the drugs themselves. Brecher and the Editors of Consumer Reports Magazine, 1972Ĭhapter 12. The Consumers Union Report on Licit and Illicit Drugsīy Edward M. The Haight-Ashbury - its predecessors and its satellitesįirst steps toward a solution: innovative approaches by indigenous institutionsĬonsumers Union Report on Licit and Illicit Drugs Prescription - over-the-counter - and black-market drugs The 1969 marijuana shortage and Operation Intercept LSD today: The search for a rational perspective How the hazards of LSD were augmented - 1962-1969 ![]() The historical antecedents of glue-sniffing The nonbarbiturate sedatives and the minor tranquilizers Popularizing the barbiturates as thrill pills The barbiturates for sleep and for sedationĪlcohol and barbiturates: two ways of getting drunk Heroin on the youth drug scene - and in VietnamĬigarettes - and the 1964 report of the Surgeon General's Advisory Committee How well does methadone maintenance work? Why our narcotics laws have failed: (2) The economics of the black market Why our narcotics laws have failed: (1) Heroin is an addicting drug Opiates for pain relief - for tranquilization - and for pleasureĮffects of opium - morphine - and heroin on addicts Nineteenth-century America a dope fiend's paradise The heroin overdose mystery and other occupational hazards of heroin addictionĬonsumers Union Report on Licit and Illicit Drugs - Table of Contents
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