When It Comes To Drug-Related Deaths In San Diego, Ones Like Xanax Are Right Behind Opioids
And the San Diego County medical examiner found that 83 percent of the people who suffered a benzodiazepine-related death in 2016 also had an opioid in their system.
KPBS:
Deaths Linked To Anti-Anxiety Drugs Rise, But Fly Under The Radar
Nationwide between 2002 and 2015, according to the National Institute On Drug Abuse, the number of deaths involving benzodiazepines more than quadrupled. Nathan Painter, associate professor at UC San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy, said these drugs can be risky. And when taken in combination with opioid painkillers, deadly. (Goldberg, 2/23)
In other news related to the opioid crisis —
Sacramento Bee:
Granite Bay Doctor Sent To Prison For Prescribing Vast Amounts Of Opioids To Patients Who Didn't Need Them
On Thursday, the final blow came as Capos, 67, was sentenced to 52 months in federal prison for what U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. called an "amazing" contribution to the nation's opioid crisis. ...The plea agreement Capos signed says he agrees that he prescribed opioid drugs to the undercover agent "without clinical indication," then later prescribed stronger pills at the patient's request. (Stanton, 2/22)
The Associated Press:
Drugs Likely In Deaths Of 3 Found On San Francisco Street
Public health authorities are warning against the dangers of buying drugs potentially laced with fentanyl after three men were found dead near a school in San Francisco's historic Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. It's unlikely the medical examiner's office will determine the cause of death Thursday, but the department wanted to alert health care officials and drug users, said Rachael Kagan, a spokeswoman for the city's Department of Public Health. (2/22)