Opioid Abuse and Death in America

In 2015, opioid related deaths hit a record of just under 33,100.  That was more than all the deaths related to heroin and cocaine use, combined.  It's only 2000 deaths short of the number of motor vehicle fatalaties in that same year. The principal reason for this problem is over-prescribing by doctors.  Still, they continue to prescribe these drugs to at-risk individuals, and the rate of deaths  keeps climbing at an uncontrolled rate and accelerating; nearly tripling since 2002:

In this country, ground zero for this problem is Maryland and its largest city Baltimore.  The rate of opioid-related hospital admissions in Maryland in 2014 was 362 per 100,000 citizens. Substantially higher that the average of 225 per 100,000 for all of the United States.  But, the real problem is Baltimore and the 977 admissions per 100,000 citizens.  A serious issue in that city is that hospital emergency rooms are not permitted to treat opioid addiction for low income users.   As a result, the only time one of these individuals is admitted to an emergency room is after it is too late and that person has already overdosed.

Because of the frequency of opioid deaths in the state, Maryland's Governor has declared a state of emergency.  And now, President Trump has created a commission to study and recommend changes to control what is now an epidemic.

References:

Opioid overdose deaths just jumped again: http://www.businessinsider.com/opioid-overdose-death-statistics-2016

Motor Vehicle Deaths by Year: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_in_U.S._by_year

CDC: Physicians are a leading source of prescription opioids for the highest-risk users: https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/p0303-prescription-opioids.html

Opioid users filling Maryland hospital beds and emergency rooms: http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/maryland-health/bs-hs-opioid-hospitalizations-20170106-story.html

Source of Graph: CDC: Overdose Death Rates: https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates

Maryland governor declares state of emergency for opioid crisis: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/hogan-declares-opioid-state-of-emergency/2017/03/01/5c22fcfa-fe2f-11e6-99b4-9e613afeb09f_story.html?utm_term=.de5d84a4c375

Opioid Epidemic: Trump to Set Up Commission on Addiction Crisis: http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/americas-heroin-epidemic/opioid-epidemic-trump-set-commission-addiction-crisis-sources-say-n739861
 
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Appeals Court Upholds Maryland's Assault Weapons Ban

Following the mass killing at Sandy Hook, the Maryland legislature passed into law, a 2013 ban on assault weapons.  As expected, that law has been challenged in court by gun rights advocates.

Just last February, a U.S. Court of Appeals, upheld the lower court's ruling that the law was constitutional.  The court agreed with the argument that "weapons of war" don't belong on our streets.  But, the "weapons of war" argument is specious.  Every assault weapons ban has only one thing that defines it: Cosmetics.  Here's a perfect example:

That graphic was done when Senator Dianne Feinstein was trying to push a national assault ban through the Senate, by offering an example of how useless assault weapons bans are.  Maryland's law is no different.  Gun manufacturers know they can simply make subtle changes in order to make the weapons legal.  A perfect example is the Sig Sauer R716:

For whatever reason, the "Firearm Search" website of the Maryland State Police says this rifle is legal in the state to buy or sell.  On the other hand, the Sig Sauer MCX -- which was used in the Orlando massacre -- is not.  And, it actually looks less menacing than the R716:

Both weapons accept magazines with more than 10 rounds.  Both are semi-automatic, and both can kill.  I think that anti-gun legislatures are passing laws without the slightest understanding of the gun industry.  They are trying to fool people into believing that they have solved a problem when they haven't.  Guns like those above kill very few people in this country.

I just wish that the State of Maryland was more interested in solving the murder rate in Baltimore which has been at record levels since the death of Freddie Gray.

References:

US appeals court upholds Maryland assault weapons ban: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/02/21/us-appeals-court-upholds-maryland-assault-weapons-ban.html

Source of the First Graphic: http://imgur.com/gallery/Q9OIM

Maryland State Police: Firearm Search:  http://mdsp.maryland.gov/Organization/Pages/CriminalInvestigationBureau/LicensingDivision/Firearms/FirearmSearch.aspx

Thousands Of Americans Are Gunned Down Each Year, But Few Die By Assault-Style Rifle: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/assault-weapons-deaths_us_5763109de4b015db1bc8c123

In 2016, Baltimore's second-deadliest year on record, bullets claimed targets and bystanders alike: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-homicides-2016-20170102-story.html