Oregon drug deaths: More people dying from meth use, cocaine-related deaths at a low

There was one less drug-related death in Oregon last year, compared to 2012.

What stood out: The fewest number of people died as a result of cocaine use in more than a decade, but the greatest number of people lost their lives as a result of methamphetamine use since 2000...

...123 methamphetamine-related deaths did not result from overdoses of the drug, but the result of other traumatic incidents, such as a drowning or a car crash. Methamphetamine use is also linked to seizures and sudden elevation in blood pressure, which can cause strokes or a heart attack.
...Superlabs in Mexico took over production of methamphetamine after domestic U.S. production was essentially eliminated due to the limits placed on the key ingredient, pseudoephedrine, he said.

"Meth is probably the most plentiful drug in the western United States,'' Kruger said...

Dr. Karen Gunson, state medical examiner, said illicit drug deaths dropped by one in 2013, to 222 deaths from 223 in 2012. Last year, the state recorded the highest number of methamphetamine-related deaths since 2000, Gunson said.Stuart Tomlinson/The Oregonian/2012...