The Emergency Medical Service (NMPD) is increasingly receiving calls related to drug overdoses, the service’s head Liene Cipule said in an interview on TV3’s morning program “900 Seconds.”
According to her, the number of overdose cases has shown a consistently rising trend for a long time, and the people overdosing on drugs are becoming younger and younger. She emphasized that specific measures are needed to reverse this development.
Cipule explained that one reason for this trend could be changes in the drug trade. In the past, buyers and sellers usually knew each other, and the quality of illegal substances played a significant role in maintaining those relationships. Now, drug sales have become much more impersonal and remote. As a result, newly purchased pills often differ in composition from those bought before, increasing the risk of overdose.
She also noted a shift in drug use habits — young people are no longer using drugs only at parties or special events, but also in more everyday situations.
According to Cipule,
it has often become easier to access drugs than alcohol.
The NMPD head also acknowledged that occasional spikes in overdose cases are observed, which may be linked to the arrival of new batches or new types of narcotic substances on the market.
As reported earlier, in September, a young woman died at Kuldīga Hospital after poisoning from synthetic drugs. Three other adult patients were also hospitalized there after allegedly using narcotic substances.
Police have warned that the popularity of synthetic drugs is increasing, posing a serious health threat because these substances are extremely potent — even tiny doses can be fatal. Currently, synthetic opioids are available in various forms and can even resemble candies, which may mislead users into thinking they are less dangerous — an entirely false assumption.
In many cases, the actual composition of substances sold on the black market differs drastically from what dealers claim, making drug use especially dangerous and unpredictable.
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