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Despite the fact that Maryland is facing a growing epidemic of opioids, this has not translated into an increase in the number of drug-related road accidents, involving drivers who have drugs in their system. This is according to a new report reviewing the data of the state's medical examiner. This means that the number of deaths has remained about the same, despite an increase in the number of people dependent on opioids.
"The fact that opioid purchases in Maryland have been more or less stable over the past 10 years has been a surprise," said Johnathon P. Ehsani, one of the report's authors. "This is striking because Maryland is one of those states that has been pretty severely affected by the global epidemic of opioids."
The state medical examiner in Baltimore conducted this study with the help of researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of Buffalo.
The study was complicated by the fact that emergency teams often administered opioids, making it difficult to know if drivers already had opioids in their system before the accident. Autopsies have thus been able to detect opioids in the systems of people who have died as a result of their injuries. One of the most common opioids used by emergency personnel is the potent Fentanyl badgesic.
In order to filter these cases, the researchers had to focus on a smaller sample: a group of drivers who died on the scene. "In such cases, the risk of pain management will be significantly lower than that of people who died hours or days after the accident," the report says.
In 2017, the United States recorded more than 70,000 drug overdose deaths. Overdoses of opioids accounted for nearly 68% of these. Maryland was among the 23 states designated by the Centers for Disease Control as recording statistically significant increases that year.
Ehsani says their study only fits into a much broader vision and that is why opioid-related accidents have not increased significantly, despite the high number of deaths in the state. "Our study is a unique data point in a national phenomenon that we are examining."
He suggests that there could be a number of factors involved. "It could be a number of things – and all are clouds," he said. "It could be that a number of people with opioids choose not to drive. There may be some self-selection in this population or some of the most severely affected people may be unable to drive or have access to a vehicle. "
Ehsani said previous studies have suggested that opioid-related collisions are on the rise in many parts of the country.
"We applied a stricter definition than our other colleagues," he said. "We were more conservative in our case definition. But my warning is that the jury is still absent. We need to continue to look at this issue and badyze the data, and to really see in Maryland if things are stable, and even if they are, how we can keep them that way. "
According to the report, the average person killed in an opioid-related accident in Maryland is Caucasian, male, and 50 to 55 years old. Women, African Americans, Asians and Latinos are much less likely to experience such accidents. He also determined that people living in rural counties, such as on the east coast of Maryland, were more likely to die in collisions involving opioids.
Ehsani pointed out that "none of our deaths caused by an accident allows us to say that people have been tampered with. The definition is that opioids were present in their blood when taking a sample. "
If a family member is struggling with opioid addiction, it is important to ask for help. A combination of medical detoxification and behavioral therapy can go a long way in the fight against drug addiction. But as each addict is badigned differently, a comprehensive program tailored to his or her specific needs is needed. Look for an addiction treatment center nearby and find out how addiction programs work. Click on the link to see the best rehabilitation placement programs in El Paso.
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