Methamphetamine deaths rise sharply in San Diego County

SAN DIEGO – According to investigations conducted by the County of San Diego, during 2020 deaths from methamphetamine use and abuse increased 32%, in addition to the fact that this type of drug is the main cause of violence in the town.

Authorities of the county of San Diego announced in a press conference the situation that exists due to the consumption of this drug; District Attorney Summer Stephan called the situation the methamphetamine crisis.

She said that at this moment fentanyl is ending the lives of those who consume it; Added to this problem are the damage caused by the use of methamphetamine, which “is the drug most linked to violent crimes; if you can picture this, 56% of persons that are booked in jail for any crime, for murder, child molestation, domestic violence, robbery, 56% have meth in their system”.

Currently the authorities are working on this and, as a result of their efforts, they have managed to shut down illegal methamphetamine operations, but it is impossible to stop what arrives from the other side of the border, since it is estimated that 23% of what is seized, comes from outside the country.

According to the data provided by the County of San Diego, during the past year 722 residents died from using methamphetamines of their own free will, while another 576 citizens died due to the drugs made with that drug that they were prescribed.

In addition, county hospitals registered 16,309 hospitalizations for drug use and abuse and 4,740 people attended to receive a treatment program.

According to the Methamphetamine Report Card, during 2019 there were 546 deaths from the use and abuse of this drug; while deaths from prescription drugs in that year was 275.

According to the investigations carried out, it was determined that a significant number of people had apocryphal medical prescriptions in order to buy methamphetamine.

Regarding fentanyl, it indicates that 462 people died in 2020 due to its consumption, if it is taken as a reference to 2019, the rise is overwhelming, since 151 deaths were registered in that year.

Jonathan Morales, whose daughter died last year from an overdose in San Diego, California, asked young people to be very careful, especially to avoid consuming fentanyl, because although it is very popular among the population, the results can be fatal as in the case of his daughter, who died after consuming her first dose.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) disclosed that fentanyl is 100 times more potent than morphine and up to 50 times more potent than heroin.