Drug Overdose Deaths at an All-time High

Alcoholism will kill you over time, but opioids will kill you overnight.

This disheartening point is underpinned by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recent report that 108,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2021 – the highest level on record. Astoundingly, this number represents a 15 percent increase over 2020, which saw a horrific 30 percent increase over the previous year.

If your business is seeing this kind of exponential increase, it would be outstanding – you want your growth arrow pointing up and to the right year after year. But when it represents a drug scourge that last year killed a population equal to that of Waterbury, Connecticut, it’s mortifying. This scourge has killed a quarter as many people as COVID, one of the worst pandemics the world has ever seen.

As these numbers soar, so does the heartbreak of every person affected, hoping against hope the day never comes when they lose a loved one to these insidious drugs. In the abstract, it’s easy to gloss over these heart-rending statistics as life’s other pressing issues grab our more immediate attention. It’s a lot harder to dispense with these numbers when we think about the families and loved ones left behind to grieve and, inevitably, ask, “What if…”.

The Overdose Epidemic’s Long Reach

In two weeks, my son Dan will observe the fifth anniversary of the death of his best friend in the world to an opioid overdose. Dan’s friend was a young man with unlimited potential who died before he was legally old enough to vote; a young man who brimmed with vitality and optimism now gone forever, leaving behind incalculable grief and sorrow. In two weeks this young man’s parents and his younger sister and brother will all be forced to recognize an anniversary for which none of us would ever want to face.  

This week Dan spoke with an Exact Nature customer (and friend) whose 26-year-old son is struggling with opioid addiction, and then to the suffering young man himself. Dan offered insight to both the mother and her son from the point of view of a young man – Dan is 23 – who saw his best friend die suddenly to opioids and who, himself, struggled with addiction.

Just like every one of us who has been in a similar situation, Dan wasn’t sure his words offered comfort or helped in any way. What can someone really say in this situation other than to offer a sympathetic ear and to warn vociferously of the abject danger and uncertainty of using illegal street drugs, especially given the increasingly likely chance that they may contain some amount of deadly fentanyl produced in criminal labs outside the United States. (More on this point in a moment.)

As we say in the rooms of AA and NA, getting sober has to be an inside job, meaning the individual sufferer won’t be able to get sober until he or she is committed to doing so. No amount of pressure applied from the outside will work until the individual decides he/she has to quit. Oftentimes, this requires hitting rock bottom. The problem with opioids is that rock bottom too often means death.

I lived in Reno, Nevada recently for six years and while there I participated in a leadership program. As part of this program we were required to take part in a ride-along with the local police, fire, sheriff’s, or emergency medical department.

I spent a Friday night with the Reno Police Department and over the course of the night we went on three overdose-related emergency calls; one man died before they could administer lifesaving drugs. One officer told me that it was common to be called to the same address several times a week and, frequently, multiple times in one day.

America’s Addiction to Opioids

The opioid crisis has been called the most preventable public health crisis in the U.S.

An estimated 130 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose. As of January 2022, CDC says that since 1999 more than 840,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses, almost COVID-level numbers.

Add the urgency and lethality of the illegal fentanyl found in many street drugs and every time a person consumes these illicit drugs it becomes a roll of the roulette wheel as to whether it will end in the user’s death. To this point, synthetic opioids like fentanyl were involved in more than 96 percent of opioid-related deaths in 2018 alone.

Fentanyl Adds Fuel to the Fire of the Opioid Crisis

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid often used under careful medical supervision to treat patients with the severe pain that follows surgery. Its legitimate medical purpose, however, has been clouded by the fact that it has been a leading factor in overdose fatalities. Its deadliness is understandable given that this illicit fentanyl can be a hundred times stronger than pharmaceutical morphine. 

The illegal fentanyl found in the United States’ underground drug trade is commonly produced in criminal labs abroad and smuggled in through Mexico. This fentanyl is produced at low cost and is often used to increase the potency and volume of street drugs then pressed into pills resembling legitimate prescription opioids. 

As one can easily imagine, the potency of the illicit fentanyl in the U.S. varies widely. In a recent analysis by the DEA, the amount of fentanyl in counterfeit pills they seized ranged from .02 to 5.1 milligrams. To many, two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal.

Current Opioid Treatment

Opioid use disorder (OUD) and, in its most severe form, opioid addiction, present a major public health challenge in the United States and, in large part, is preventable.

Current treatments approved by the FDA for OUD rely heavily on methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone, commonly known under their brand names Methadose, Suboxone, and Vivitrol, among others. These medications have been shown to help decrease cravings, minimize withdrawal effects, and reduce relapse rates. They have not been, however, uniformly successful nor without risk.

For example, the criticisms of methadone and buprenorphine stem from the fact that they are a form of narcotic-based opioids being used to treat the very issue they’re combatting – opioid use disorder. These medicines often carry their own stigma because they too can be addictive, cause intoxication, and foster an ongoing dependence.

Vivitrol, for instance, is the brand name for naltrexone. It’s a narcotic blocker given monthly by injection but can only be administered once opioid withdrawal occurs; therefore, it doesn’t help with OUD prevention.

CBD Offers a Healthy Alternative

Given the shortcomings of current opioid use disorder treatment, alternative treatments receiving serious consideration. For instance, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recently recognized the need for alternative treatment options, publishing guidance against the use of opioids for those with chronic pain.

One such treatment option receiving serious consideration is CBD. Unlike opioids which work via the body’s pain receptors, CBD works through the endocannabinoid system (ECS) to influence pain, making boththe pain and related symptoms less unpleasant. Further, CBD offers a consistent, safe, and effective treatment option for opioid addiction, while possessing a very positive safety profile.

Additional research is warranted, but early signs show CBD’s remarkable promise to help people with opioid use disorders by helping with inflammation and pain, thereby reducing the need for opioids. In the process, CBD can improve the user’s quality of life while allowing them to avoid life-threatening alternative street drugs.

Medical Professionals Support CBD for Opioid Use Disorder

Speaking at the CannMed conference on cannabis science, several medical doctors and researchers lauded CBD’s potential in helping with opioid use disorder.

One vocal supporter was Dr. Bonni Goldstein, M.D. who cited studies touting CBD as a substitute for opiates. She referenced a survey in 2017 of 2897 patients in which 97 percent reported that they were able to decrease the number of opiates when they took CBD. Additionally, 81 percent reported taking CBD alone was more effective for their pain than taking opiates and CBD together. Dr. Goldstein also cited a survey which found that 15 percent of elderly patients discontinued their opioid use within six months of starting their use of CBD for pain.

Other medical professionals in attendance also cited the synergistic properties of CBD and myriad other cannabinoids to help alleviate pain and to wean people from their opioid use.

It’s clear is that new OUD therapies are urgently needed given the pervasive misuse and overdose potential of current treatments. The emerging evidence that suggests CBD has a viable role in lessening the impact of OUD—to prevent opioid misuse, minimize withdrawal symptoms, and decrease the likelihood of relapse—warrants further exploration of CBD as a potential treatment.

Unfortunately, despite decades of OUD research, overdose deaths are at an all-time high. CBD may provide an alternative way of targeting drug addiction without exacerbating further addictions. The available evidence is still limited, however, but the FDA has recently approved CBD for use in clinical trials studying the role CBD can play in OUD.

Exact Nature

Exact Nature’s raison d'être – our only reason for being – is to provide safe, healthy, natural, CBD-based products to help recovering addicts and alcoholics face the addictive cravings and changes in mood and sleep patterns that can come in sobriety. Every sale of an Exact Nature product feels like someone is taking a tangible step toward addressing their addiction.

Exact Nature makes a product called Detox, which is aimed directly at curbing addictive cravings. Although there is more research forthcoming, there is a meaningful amount of research that shows CBD is helping curb addictive cravings generally and, specifically, for those suffering from opioid use disorder. To this point the FDA has recently approved CBD for clinical trials for opioid use disorder.

CBD is not a cure-all, to be sure, but it has the potential to play an important, maybe even lifesaving, role.

The focus of Detox products is curbing addictive cravings – from alcohol to drugs to nicotine. It is the only reason these products exist. Detox products pair premium CBD with natural ingredients that have long been used to minimize visual cues and, in the process, lessen addictive cravings.

Choose from capsules, oil, or powder. Or combine them – more is better. Your body will thank you. Remember, with CBD, consistent use over time is key.

Detox product’s hardworking CBD is formulated with magnesium, amino acids, kudzu root, essential oils, and a range of other ingredients aimed at curbing addictive cravings. While there are thousands of CBD products on the market, Exact Nature’s are the only products formulated for the specific needs of people who want to reduce their use of alcohol, drugs, and harmful substances.

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What’s in a Name? Exact Nature’s name was taken from Alcoholic Anonymous’ Twelve Steps, specifically the Fifth Step, which is, “Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.” Step 5, often called “Confession,” requires addicts and alcoholics to embark on an honest, open and courageous self-evaluation of our faults, removing our egoism and helping minimize our fears.