XPost: or.politics, ca.politics, alt.politics.trump   
   XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   From: patriot1@protonmail.com   
      
   >rural conservaturds are too cheap to take care of their own, so they do   
   >ship them to big cities like Portland   
   >>   
      
   Rural conservatives rely on government money more than anyone.   Their own   
   tax base can't cover their essential needs like water, sewage,   
   electricity, roads and disaster aid.   They spend most of their day   
   drinking moonshine and having sex with their kin.   
      
      
   Most of them are on Meth.   
      
   Meth use drives overdose epidemic in rural U.S. communities   
   Study reveals methamphetamine use is common, contributes to the national   
   overdose epidemic in rural America   
      
   Methamphetamine remains a stubbornly prevalent illicit substance in large   
   swaths of rural America, according to a new study by researchers at Oregon   
   Health & Science University and other institutions.   
      
   The findings, published today in JAMA Network Open, show that   
   methamphetamine remains a common drug and is driving overdoses in rural   
   communities. About four of five people who use drugs in rural areas across   
   10 states reported using methamphetamines in the past 30 days, according   
   to the researchers.   
      
   That’s a huge problem that’s often overlooked, said the study’s lead   
   author from OHSU.   
    mmunities, methamphetamine use is pervasive,” said Todd Korthuis, M.D.,   
   M.P.H., professor of medicine (general internal medicine and geriatrics)   
   in the OHSU School of Medicine and head of addiction medicine at OHSU.   
   “This has been a West Coast problem for a long time, but now we see   
   methamphetamine use in rural communities across the United States.”   
      
   The national opioid epidemic continues to dominate headlines and accounts   
   for the majority of the more than 100,000 drug overdose deaths recorded in   
   the United States last year, largely due to fentanyl. However, Korthuis   
   said it’s a mistake to overlook the impact of methamphetamine that   
   continues to grip rural communities across the country. Fentanyl now   
   frequently contaminates methamphetamine, Korthuis said. People may think   
   they’re using only using methamphetamine, when in reality, they’re   
   unknowingly taking fentanyl — which is 50 to 100 times more potent than   
   heroin.   
      
   The new study confirmed that the risk of nonfatal overdose was greatest   
   among people using both methamphetamine and opioids; 22% of people using   
   both drugs reported experiencing an overdose in the past six months.   
      
   By comparison, 14% of rural people using opioids alone reported   
   experiencing an overdose in the past six months. Among people using only   
   methamphetamine, 6% reported nonfatal overdoses.   
      
   “Co-use of methamphetamine and opioids is associated with a big increased   
   risk of overdose in rural communities,” Korthuis said. “Some people view   
   rural areas as immune to problems like drug use and overdose, but they’re   
   not.”   
      
   The study found a consistent presence of economic distress, including the   
   fact that 53% of the respondents reported being homeless in the previous   
   six months. The situation heightens the risk of so-called “deaths of   
   despair” — drug overdose deaths, suicide and disease linked to drug and   
   alcohol use.   
      
   “There are deaths of despair everywhere, but our rural communities have   
   been hard hit,” Korthuis said.   
      
   Treatment for substance use disorders works, but remains scarce in rural   
   America: 40% of all survey respondents reported trying to access treatment   
   in the previous six months but were unable to get it. Among those using   
   both meth and opioids, 44% could not access treatment.   
      
   Additionally, naloxone can reverse fentanyl overdose, but is rarely given   
   to people using methamphetamine. Naloxone distribution should be expanded   
   to people who use methamphetamine, Korthuis said.   
      
   A total of 3,048 people participated in the Rural Opioid Initiative study   
   from January 2018 through March 2020. The survey enrolled participants in   
   rural areas with high overdose rates in 10 states, including Oregon,   
   Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin, West Virginia,   
   Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)