Medications Expiration Dates

It seems that opioid abuse is in the news all the time lately. I'm wondering whether drugs discarded because of arbitrary expiration dates falling into the wrong hands are contributing to this problem.

It seems to me that the increase in deaths is likely due to illegally manufactured fentanyl that is not properly dosed for the pill, most of these deaths are therefore unintentional...

..."In more recent years, the data have shown the increase in overdose deaths is being fueled by deaths involving synthetic opioids (other than methadone), likely illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF). This increase in deaths has been associated with increases in drug submissions (i.e., drug products tested by forensic labs) of IMF, but not in pharmaceutical fentanyl prescribing rates. 1,2,3,4 Thus, a large proportion of the increase in overdose deaths is presumably due to IMF and not prescription opioids.5 However, current information reported about overdose deaths in NVSS does not distinguish pharmaceutical fentanyl from IMF."...

Then there is lack of knowledge about people taking prescription opioid pain medications that are completely unaware that drinking alcohol can be fatal...because in moderation it seems harmless, but a little too much and you're pushing up daisy's the next day...then there are the heroin overdoses which occur sooner or later for all junkies...most deaths that are attributed to opioids are just simply taking too many drugs and drinking at the same time...Opioids are a victim of their own success, and an easy target for do-gooders looking for a cause that they can use to force more rules and regulations in trade for freedoms, that people won't fight for...creeping socialism...

https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/analysis.html

Illegally manufactured?????? Are you kidding????? Please don't spread propaganda!

Drug companies poured 76 billion opioid pills into US neighborhoods...

Drug company founder guilty of bribing doctors to push opioid

Origins of an Epidemic: Purdue Pharma Knew Its Opioids Were Widely...

..."“Drug incidents and overdoses related to fentanyl are occurring at an alarming rate throughout the United States and represent a significant threat to public health and safety,” said DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart. “Often laced in heroin, fentanyl and fentanyl analogues produced in illicit clandestine labs are up to 100 times more powerful than morphine and 30-50 times more powerful than heroin. Fentanyl is extremely dangerous to law enforcement and anyone else who may come into contact with it. DEA will continue to address this threat by directly attacking the drug trafficking networks producing and importing these deadly drugs. "...

..."In the last two years, DEA has seen a significant resurgence in fentanyl-related seizures. According to the National Forensic Laboratory Information (NFLIS), state and local labs reported 3,344 fentanyl submissions in 2014, up from 942 in 2013. In addition, DEA has identified 15 other fentanyl-related compounds.

Fentanyl is a Schedule II narcotic used as an analgesic and anesthetic. It is the most potent opioid available for use in medical treatment - 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin. Fentanyl is potentially lethal, even at very low levels. Ingestion of small doses as small as 0.25 mg can be fatal. Its euphoric effects are indistinguishable from morphine or heroin."...

..."Fentanyl cases in 2014 have been significant, particularly in the northeast and in California, including one 12 kilogram seizure. The fentanyl from these seizures originated from Mexican drug trafficking organizations.

Globally, fentanyl abuse has increased the past two years in Russia, Ukraine, Sweden and Denmark. Mexican authorities have seizure fentanyl labs there, and intelligence has indicated that the precursor chemicals came from companies in Mexico, Germany, Japan, and China.

Historically, this is not the first time fentanyl has posed such a threat to public health and safety. Between 2005 and 2007, over 1,000 U.S. deaths were attributed to fentanyl - many of which occurred in Chicago, Detroit, and Philadelphia. The source of that fentanyl was traced to a single lab in Mexico. When that lab was identified and dismantled, the surge ended."...

https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2015/03/18/dea-issues-nationwide-alert-fentanyl-threat-health-and-public-safety

Not opinion pieces written in left wing news rags...

Consider the US population to be ∼1/3 billion. Then 76 billion pills ≈ 228 pills per capita over the stated period of 6 years, or ∼3/4 of a pill per week. BFD.

In 'Marketing Terms' it is called "Planned Obsolescence," however, for most medicines it's the "half-life" point for potency.

In a word, lawyers.

• It protects the manufacturer from any come-back.
• It bolsters the income stream for the manufacturers; 95% of what the pharmaceutical industry produces is waste.
• It gives confidence to the user that the active substance is at the correct potency.
• etc.

In a word, profit.

There's no expiry if you use organic herbs and grasses. Goats don't need medicine. They just eat bunch of grasses, simple as that. But, I rather not?

Did you just call us a bunch of old goats?

I got a fellow filipino who supposed to die of cancer. Due time is about 6 months. He was desperate that time, with no money for treatment/chemo. It came up to his mind, why goats never had illness often and cancer. So, he observed what type of grass/herb & vine goats eat. And, he make a concoction out of it. Well, he got healed and luckily now the ailment is his fortune.