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Drug abuse trends that contribute to the opioid crisis

Brett Cherrington, MD (photo by Jim Howe)

Brett Cherrington, MD (photo by Jim Howe)

Deaths from opioid overdoses outnumber deaths from gun violence or motor vehicle accidents and have become the No. 1 cause of death among young, healthy adults, says Brett Cherrington, MD, an assistant professor of emergency medicine and a senior medical toxicology fellow at Upstate. He discusses the dangers of fentanyl and how that drug is showing up in heroin and cocaine, and the practice of "speedballing," in which people take cocaine and opioids together in an effort to mediate each drug's side effects. (For questions about drugs, including concern about a possible drug overdose, contact the Upstate New York Poison Center any time at 800 -222-1222.)

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