From The Onion: “Visibly trembling as he wiped beads of perspiration from his forehead, Arcelis Pharmaceuticals CEO Paul Corrier told reporters Wednesday that he could stop profiting off the nation’s opioid crisis anytime he wants.”
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How the Media Is Fueling the So-Called Opioid Overdose Epidemic
The evidence shows that over 90% of so-called opioid overdose deaths are the result of polydrug poisoning. It is relatively difficult to overdose on heroin alone or painkillers alone, although it can be done if you are determined enough. However, mixing heroin with another drug such as alcohol, benzodiazepines, cocaine, or opioid painkillers is extremely deadly.
The mix of opioids with benzodiazepines or alcohol is not simply additive; it is synergistic. The respiratory center in the brain contains both opioid and GABA receptors, and when the opioid receptors are shut down by heroin and the GABA receptors are shut down by alcohol or a benzodiazepine, the result is death.
The news media and television could be saving countless lives every day if they were running non-stop headlines about the dangers of drug mixing, but they are not. They have been bewitched by the myth of the “demon drug” and prefer to run stories inaccurately labeling opioid-related deaths as heroin overdoses instead of accurately reporting them as polydrug poisonings due to drug mixing.
