15.1 Overdosed: The Worst Drug Epidemic in Human History

Renegade Psych

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I recorded this series solo on a topic I consider myself very well-versed in, the drug/opioid epidemic, which has taken the lives of millions of Americans and caused heartbreak for hundreds of millions more in the last 25 years. While the official overdose fatality figures hover above 100,000 annually as of 2022, there are significant numbers of fatal overdoses that get logged as other deaths. Beyond that, there are so many others that don't get counted as drug-related deaths even though the death is primarily related to the illicit drug use, including death by depression and suicide, infections like Hepatitis C, HIV, and endocarditis (heart valve infection), liver/heart/kidney failure, and so much more, pushing this annual fatality rate of 100,000 deaths much higher than what's reported. Follow along as I introduce the severity of the current drug epidemic and in the coming weeks, trace the evolution over time of how we got to where we are now.

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