Overdosing on opiates

Essential practice points from this article Part I of this article ( issue 4) identified the things drug users and others do or don’t do which affect the risk of overdose, and the influences which make these behaviours more or less likely. Key conclusion: overdose deaths are avoidable: rarely is taking heroin or taking a high dose the sole cause. Other factors turn potential risk into reality, and these factors are susceptible to intervention. Illegal heroin’s uncertain strength and the fluctuating tolerance levels of its users mean that risk cannot be eliminated, but it can be drastically reduced. Ways this might be achieved are a mix of policies and tactics for which there is some evidence, and those which are untried but which knowledge of the causes of overdose suggest are worth attempting.