In my last two columns I wrote about increasing homelessness and homicides in Denver. Today I’ll complete the depressing trio, using the word heroin for the sake of alliteration, the “3 H’s,” but in reality it is far more than just heroin contributing to the rise in fatal drug overdoses on Colorado.
Heroin is old school, now replaced by the synthetic opioid fentanyl, far more potent and readily available. Fentanyl is 80-100 times stronger than morphine, meaning a minute amount can be fatal. Fentanyl goes by street names of China Girl, China White and China Town, which surprisingly have not been deemed racist by the woke police that were quick to condemn any reference to the Chinese coronavirus.
The Denver Post reported a surge of 59 percent in 2020 as yet another public health issue plaguing the state, on top of the previously described homelessness and homicides.
Part of the opioid crisis is indeed China related, as they are the world’s largest source of fentanyl. An open southern border facilitates the flow of illicit drugs into the US via Mexico.
Why the rise in overdoses? With fentanyl, one issue is drug potency. Two milligrams is a fatal dose. In the ICU or operating room, drug dosing is precise. Not so much on the street where the user never really knows how much drug they are ingesting.
2020 was also a unique year due to COVID, and a year of misery with school and business closures, stay at home orders, masks, and a steady bombardment of gloom and doom from cable news. While everyone is concerned about new mask or vaccine mandates, the mental health consequences of such rules are largely ignored.
If drug overdoses are bad now, add another year of masking, distancing and vaccines which are not working as well as advertised. Although the stress, isolation, and anxiety in a COVID world is contributing to the rise in fatal drug overdoses, underlying mental health issues and a readily available supply of dangerous drugs remain even if COVID disappears.
As The Denver Post reported, “There were 1,313 fatal overdoses in Colorado last year, up from roughly 824 such deaths recorded on average during the five previous years.” What will 2021 look like as we are heading back to last year with masking and other restrictions
Colorado legalized marijuana in 2009, now 12 years ago. Are we seeing the natural consequence with the rise in fatal drug overdoses or are the two issues unrelated? This is at least worth some research and consideration.
Meanwhile Coloradans are dying not just from COVID and its latest Greek letter variant but one of the real world consequences of the downstream effects of COVID and resulting public health policies, despair with drug use and overdoses.