Association between law enforcement seizures of illicit drugs and drug overdose deaths involving cocaine and methamphetamine, Ohio, 2014–2019

Estimating changes in overdose death rates from increasing methamphetamine supply in Ohio: Evidence from crime lab data

“…These results are somewhat different than those found by Zibbell et al (2022) who investigated the relationship between illicit stimulant-involved overdose deaths and MA and cocaine in the BCI crime lab data at the state level. Like us, they find no overall statistically significant correlation between MA-related overdose deaths and MA without synthetic opioids in BCI crime lab tests.…”

Drug supply measures and drug overdose mortality in the era of fentanyl and stimulants

“…For example, a state's increase in overall enforcement activities following a policy change may be reflected in higher rates of drug reports, but such increases in overall enforcement activities would not likely impact the percentage of drug reports involving a certain substance. With the exception of a few studies that have included percentage-based measures ( Zibbell et al., 2019 , 2023 ) the majority of studies on associations between seized drug reports and overdose mortality have examined counts or rates ( Gladden et al., 2016 ; Hall et al., 2021 ; Jalal and Burke, 2021 ; Lowder et al., 2022 ; Rosenblum et al., 2020 ; Slavova et al., 2017 ; Sumner et al., 2022 ; Tran et al., 2021 ; Zibbell et al., 2022 ; Zoorob, 2019 ). Findings from the present study, however, support the potential utility of proportion-based drug report measures.…”

“…With respect to stimulants, prior studies report mixed or inconsistent associations between seized stimulant reports and overdose mortality outcomes ( Ray et al., 2023 ; Lowder et al., 2022 ; Zibbell et al., 2022 , 2023 ). The present study's correlation analyses examining between-state variation suggested that states with higher proportions of methamphetamine in seized drug reports were states with lower drug overdose mortality rates, possibly because methamphetamine is most concentrated in the western US (Supplemental Fig.…”

“…Several recent studies have examined associations between seized drug reports and measures of overdose mortality or have developed methods of using seized drug reports to forecast or predict overdose deaths as part of early warning systems. Many of these studies have focused on data from a single state or area (e.g., Hall et al., 2021 ; Mohler et al., 2021 ; Lowder et al., 2022 ; Ray et al., 2023 ; Rosenblum et al., 2020 ; Slavova et al., 2017 ; Tran et al., 2021 ; Zibbell et al., 2019 , 2022 ), while fewer have examined multiple states or the entire US ( Jalal and Burke, 2021 ; Gladden et al., 2016 ; Marks et al., 2021 ; Sumner et al., 2022 ; Zibbell et al., 2023 ; Zoorob et al., 2019 ). These studies have varied in terms of specific drug reports examined (e.g., opioids, stimulants), types of drug overdose mortality outcomes (e.g., drug overdose mortality overall, opioid-involved overdose mortality), and units of analysis (e.g., state-year, county-month).…”

“Make yourself un-NIMBY-able”: stakeholder perspectives on strategies to mobilize public and political support for overdose prevention centers in the United States of America

“…The proliferation of illicitly manufactured fentanyl has dramatically increased the potency of the drug supply, elevating overdose risk for people who use drugs (PWUD). Recent studies from the USA have detected fentanyl and fentanyl analogs with alarming frequency in heroin and stimulant drug samples [ 3 – 6 ], reinforcing the ubiquity and staying power of potent synthetic opioids in illicit drug markets. Addressing surging overdose deaths in the USA, thus, requires innovative solutions beyond the constellation of existing interventions (e.g., naloxone distribution, drug treatment services).…”