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Drug overdoses do not go down after law enforcement agencies take action and seize drugs from dealers. Instead, a recent study in the American Journal of Public Health shows the opposite is the case. In the weeks after a significant drug seizure, drug overdoses tend to rise as addicts become desperate. Given the extremity of an opioid use disorder (OUD), users in withdrawal try almost anything to get high. As a result, greater recklessness enters the picture, with the drug users willing to take just about anything. Hence, the direct consequence is an increase in drug overdoses.

Another reason for the increase in drug overdoses following a police seizure is lowering drug tolerance. When addicts cannot access the drugs they use, within a week or two, the body’s tolerance to the drug goes down. Thus, when they get hold of the narcotics again, they are more likely to die when taking the drug again. As a substance use disorder (SUD) services provider, Tarzana Treatment Centers (TTC) knows the importance of preventing relapse in patients with opioid use disorders. Once a patient’s tolerance to the drug is reduced, the chance of an overdose increases dramatically. Thus, a key to preventing overdoses is successful SUD treatment.

Preventing Drug Overdoses = More Treatment Options

According to the conclusions of the study, “Although the analytical methods we employed cannot establish causality, we hypothesized that the causal mechanism for an association lies in the disruption of a person’s ability to obtain a substance they can accurately dose; this is because that supply has become unavailable, resulting in their transition to an alternate supply with no knowledge of its potency or their ensuing tolerance.”

In other words, drug users are willing to take chances when faced with withdrawal. Regarding OUD, withdrawal management is essential to a successful recovery. Therefore, TTC makes withdrawal management a priority. By effectively managing withdrawal symptoms during the early phases of treatment, long-term recovery becomes more likely. Although TTC is 100% supportive of local law enforcement efforts, we also know that drug busts do not prevent drug overdoses.

The National Crisis of Drug Overdoses and Overdose Deaths

According to the study, fatal overdoses doubled in the week after an opioid seizure within about 500 meters of a police seizure. In addition, the distribution of naloxone, the opioid-overdose reversal medication, by paramedics doubled in the two weeks following a drug seizure that included opioids. Indeed, neighborhood overdose rates seem to skyrocket after a local drug seizure.

There is no denying that drug overdose rates are now a national crisis. In recent years, accidental drug overdoses eclipsed car accidents. Overdoses became the number one accidental cause of death for people under thirty. Without question, something needs to be done. Therefore, TTC makes drug treatment programs and drug prevention efforts top priorities. Such an approach is the best way to save lives moving forward.