Antidepressants are supposed to cure depression. That’s why they’re prescribed. And yet, over the same period that SSRI prescriptions have risen 3,000%. The suicide rate, that may be the most reliable indicator of all of depression, has not fallen in the United States. In fact, the suicide rate has jumped by 35%. That’s a huge increase. That’s a lot of dead people.
Now, drug makers admit that their products may be part of the reason for the increase in suicide. The makers of Prozac, for example, can see that young people who take that drug have an increased risk of suicide compared to those who took a placebo.
Drug cartels have seen supply chains from China disrupted. The chemicals needed to make the synthetic drugs typically come from China and these are not making it through to the cartels in Mexico.
The price of heroin, methamphetamines and fentanyl have soared in recent weeks amid the Covid-19 crisis.
“The cartels have suffered from COVID-19 due to the inability to get the regular shipments of synthetic opioids and precursor chemicals for the massive production of meth from China,” Derek Maltz, a former special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Operations Division in New York told the press.
“The cartels have continued their production at a slower rate, but the demand seems to be increasing during these times of uncertainty in America. The shutdown of cities in China and travel in and out of China have also negatively impacted the flow of chemicals and drugs to Mexico.”
Young people in San Francisco who are homeless and exchanging sex for money, drugs and shelter is nothing new, but may not be obvious. Many work out deals while panhandling. They are not interested in city assistance.
At about 12:30 a.m. last Friday, Addison Vigil, 20, sat in a grassy patch at United Nations Plaza, two miles away from the Castro. Next to him, about a dozen people were sleeping as workers hosed down the popular plaza.
Being propositioned for sex acts is…”the name of the game, especially if you’re young and you look decent.” according to Vigil. When he is in the Castro district it occurs “two or three times a day.” Around UN Plaza, though, not as often.
Young people display moderate interest in the services of local nonprofits. Vigil, when asked if he thought there should be more services offered said “More Feeds” and that people should bring food to him.
Sergeant Chuck Limbert, the LGBT liaison for San Francisco’s Police Department’s Mission Station, that oversees neighborhoods such as the Castro area said “Some of our homeless have a very strong mindset… They just want to be free to do what they want to do.”
For further teaching on homelessness and how it can affect a city see this link from Prophet.tv.