U.S. opioid crisis to spur 'mass death' as pain pills are mixed with other drugs

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(JUST THE NEWS) – Researchers are warning that the United States is facing its most significant spike in opioid deaths as patients increasingly mix synthetic pain pills with stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamines.

In a peer-reviewed study in JAMA Network Open, researchers at Northwestern University described the dark consequences of the phenomenon known as polydrug abuse.

“I’m sounding the alarm because, for the first time, there is a convergence and escalation of acceleration rates for every type of rural and urban county,” study author Lori Post said Thursday. “Not only is the death rate from an opioid at an all-time high, but the acceleration of that death rate signals explosive exponential growth that is even larger than an already historic high.”

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