Drug Overdose Deaths Spike During the Pandemic

KQED's Forum

KQED

News Commentary, News, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 7 July 2020

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Emerging evidence shows that drug overdose deaths are surging from increased substance abuse driven by feelings of isolation, anxiety and depression during the coronavirus pandemic. Fatal drug overdoses were already ticking upward in 2019, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- a trend the pandemic is accelerating. And more challenging, many treatment programs have been scaled back as the federal government puts some funding for non-COVID-related work on hold indefinitely. We'll discuss the growing concern over this epidemic within the pandemic and what can be done to address it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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1:08.0	From KQED.
1:10.0	Welcome back to Forum. I'm Michael Krasny. Emerging evidence shows that drug overdose deaths are
1:15.8	surging from increased substance abuse driven by feelings of isolation, anxiety, and depression
1:21.7	during the coronavirus pandemic. Fatal drug overdoses were already ticking upward in 2019,
1:34.3	according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a trend that the pandemic is accelerating and more challenging.
1:41.3	Many treatment programs have been scaled back as the federal government put some funding for non-COVID-related work on hold indefinitely. And here with me to shed some light on this growing issue is
1:45.0	Dr. Nora Volkov. She's director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and welcome Dr. Volkov.
1:50.0	Good afternoon and thanks very much for having me here.
1:54.0	Yes, glad to have you. Last time we were together was at City Arts and Lectures on stage in San Francisco,
2:00.0	which I remember well.
2:01.1	I also want to welcome Joanne Spetz, Associate Director for Research at UCSF Health Force Center,
2:06.2	which provides supports and recommendations to the Health and Human Services Department.
	...

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