# Heroin overdose epidemic: drug cartels are behind this, aren't they? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 20, 2016, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroin-overdose-epidemic-drug-cartels-are-behind-this-arent-they/763390 "2016-08-20T08:44:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroin-overdose-epidemic-drug-cartels-are-behind-this-arent-they/763390/1 "2016-08-20T08:44:00Z")
> **[26 overdoses in just hours: A small West Virginia city faces its demons](https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-west-virginia-overdoses-20160817-snap-story.html)** > > “They’re just showing up and dying.” What a better way to stop dead in its tracks any notion of legalizing hard drugs and thus putting the Drug Cartels in Mexico out of business, right? The Cartels have already lost billions from legalized hippie lettuce, but surely, what politician would legalize anything else after this rash of overdose deaths from hard drugs over the past year or so, right? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroin-overdose-epidemic-drug-cartels-are-behind-this-arent-they/763390/2 "2016-08-20T08:56:50Z")
Clusters of overdoses have been happening for _decades_. One scenario is when an established dealer is removed from the street and another takes his/her place and sells heroin that’s more pure than his/her predecessor’s. Addicts take the same amount they’re accustomed to but it’s more potent than they expect, so they overdose. So, not really a new phenomena and I very much doubt the cartels are interested in killing off their clientele, because dead addicts buy nothing and are not profitable. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroin-overdose-epidemic-drug-cartels-are-behind-this-arent-they/763390/3 "2016-08-20T09:11:19Z")
Not even close **russian heel**. The overdoses are a combination of the huge amount of new addicts and a flood of cheap heroin. The main cause is the number of opioid addicts. The absolutely crazy amount of narcotics that have been prescribed and taken in the last 15 years have had the predictable consequences. There have been quite a few threads on this. [2 paragraphs from the CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/epidemic/) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroin-overdose-epidemic-drug-cartels-are-behind-this-arent-they/763390/4 "2016-08-20T09:30:15Z")
> [@steatopygia](#): > > The overdoses are a combination of the huge amount of new addicts and a flood of cheap heroin. > The main cause is the number of opioid addicts. I do think the main cause is the sheer increase in the number of opioid addicts. In addition, there is the path which they came to their addiction: mainly prescription pills instead of heroin. This means that this new class of users is not so much after the heroin “rush” in the first few seconds after shooting up, but is looking for a longer term high/staving off withdrawal. Which means that distributors can spike the heroin with a cheap pinch of a super-powerful opioid that doesn’t give as good a rush as heroin. Users who don’t care about the rush won’t tell the difference unless the distributor accidentally puts too much in. ---
**Author:** ![Chihuahua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroin-overdose-epidemic-drug-cartels-are-behind-this-arent-they/763390/5 "2016-08-20T11:23:23Z")
Pretty sure the blame lies with the retard who decided to inject that shit into their body in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroin-overdose-epidemic-drug-cartels-are-behind-this-arent-they/763390/6 "2016-08-20T12:29:40Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#): > > Pretty sure the blame lies with the retard who decided to inject that shit into their body in the first place. Most of these retards started as people who got into car accidents or had surgery and got hooked on the prescription pills they were given. If you listen to podcasts Planet Money from NPR recently did a really [interesting look at the issu](http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2016/07/13/485921874/episode-711-hooked-on-heroin)e. It’s more complicated than it seems. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroin-overdose-epidemic-drug-cartels-are-behind-this-arent-they/763390/7 "2016-08-20T12:50:16Z")
Waitaminute. Are you suggesting that, “Hey Retard! Just don’t inject that shit into your body!”, is not an effective strategy for fighting drug addiction? Mind blown. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroin-overdose-epidemic-drug-cartels-are-behind-this-arent-they/763390/8 "2016-08-20T12:54:08Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Waitaminute. Are you suggesting that, “Hey Retard! Just don’t inject that shit into your body!”, is not an effective strategy for fighting drug addiction? > > Mind blown. :eek: I know! It’s nuts! ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroin-overdose-epidemic-drug-cartels-are-behind-this-arent-they/763390/9 "2016-08-20T14:28:27Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > Most of these retards started as people who got into car accidents or had surgery and got hooked on the prescription pills they were given. > > If you listen to podcasts Planet Money from NPR recently did a really [interesting look at the issu](http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2016/07/13/485921874/episode-711-hooked-on-heroin)e. > > It’s more complicated than it seems. I have been addicted to pain medicine in the past. I know full well the strong pull of opioid addiction. Mine started innocently and legitimately from a car-bike run in. It became an addiction before I was aware of it. It was horrible and I even resorted to buying them on the street and online (without a prescription). But the one thing I never did was inject heroin into my veins. Sure, I could have died on prescription meds, but as bad as it got for me I was still able to make the distinction (safety-wise) between those and street heroin. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroin-overdose-epidemic-drug-cartels-are-behind-this-arent-they/763390/10 "2016-08-20T14:49:48Z")
> [@White SIFL](#): > > I have been addicted to pain medicine in the past. I know full well the strong pull of opioid addiction. Mine started innocently and legitimately from a car-bike run in. > > It became an addiction before I was aware of it. It was horrible and I even resorted to buying them on the street and online (without a prescription). But the one thing I never did was inject heroin into my veins. Sure, I could have died on prescription meds, but as bad as it got for me I was still able to make the distinction (safety-wise) between those and street heroin. Go listen to the report it’s only 17 minutes. It’s not everyone who transitions for sure, but it’s becoming a real problem. ---
**Author:** ![Chihuahua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroin-overdose-epidemic-drug-cartels-are-behind-this-arent-they/763390/11 "2016-08-20T16:57:52Z")
Yep, because injecting an unknown and untested chemical you bought on the street corner into your own goddamned body is just a stroke of brilliance. I’ll chalk that one right up to pissing on an electric fence and trying to lick a rotary saw. I have no pity for people who kill themselves through their own goddamned stupidity. None. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroin-overdose-epidemic-drug-cartels-are-behind-this-arent-they/763390/12 "2016-08-20T18:30:33Z")
President Trump, meet your new Drug Czar. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heroin-overdose-epidemic-drug-cartels-are-behind-this-arent-they/763390/13 "2016-08-20T19:42:35Z")
Same as the [old Drug Czar](http://rosesandarmpits.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Unknown1.jpeg).