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Unclaimed bodies pile up as opioid overdose death rates soar and burial costs overwhelm the ...
DAILY MAIL UK ^ | Feb 28, 2018 | Megan Sheets For Dailymail.com and Associated Press

Posted on 02/28/2018 10:39:27 AM PST by Morgana

FULL TITLE: Unclaimed bodies pile up as opioid overdose death rates soar and burial costs overwhelm the government

Unclaimed bodies are piling up across the US as state and local governments struggle to keep up with payments to the funeral homes that spend thousands to bury them.

A 2004 report estimated that there are 40,000 unclaimed bodies stored in morgues across the US, and experts say that number has risen dramatically in recent years in part due to the opioid crisis.

More than 115 people die from opioid overdoses each day, and the most affected populations are those in lower income groups who are less likely to leave money behind to cover burial costs.

Funeral homes across the US have been overwhelmed by the number of bodies that need to be taken care of as they shoulder the cost and wait for government reimbursement.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: opioid; overdose; wod
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This is terrible
1 posted on 02/28/2018 10:39:27 AM PST by Morgana
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To: Morgana

Why not use the money comfiscated in drug raids to pay for the funerals?


2 posted on 02/28/2018 10:41:52 AM PST by Zuben Elgenubi (NOPe to GOPe)
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To: Morgana

Cremation is about $500.

That’s far less than the cost to store the bodies indefinitely.

As for those that killed themselves with dope, it’s hard to muster sympathy for them.


3 posted on 02/28/2018 10:42:08 AM PST by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: Morgana

Wondering how many of these overdoses are suicides by terminally I’ll in the last stages of illness?


4 posted on 02/28/2018 10:42:26 AM PST by Eagles6
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To: Mariner
Cremation is about $500.

It would likely cost much less if you put it out to bid, looking for volume discounts.

5 posted on 02/28/2018 10:45:02 AM PST by bkopto
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To: Zuben Elgenubi

I was just thinking the same thing!!!!


6 posted on 02/28/2018 10:45:37 AM PST by Morgana ( Always a bit of truth in dark humor.)
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To: bkopto; Mariner; Salvation

Christians could never be creamated or ever encourage it.


7 posted on 02/28/2018 10:46:32 AM PST by Morgana ( Always a bit of truth in dark humor.)
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To: Zuben Elgenubi

The police need new police cars and new marble floors for their prescients and courtrooms.


8 posted on 02/28/2018 10:47:33 AM PST by qam1 (There's been a huge party. All plates and the bottles are empty, all that's left is the bill to pay)
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To: Mariner

Unless you loved them


9 posted on 02/28/2018 10:47:49 AM PST by silverleaf (A man who kneels for the national anthem doesn't stand for much of anything)
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To: Morgana
I think the Black Plague burned itself out after having reached some critical mass. Perhaps the opioid epidemic will do the same.

If the number of deaths begins to exceed the rate at which new addicts are being created, then the population of users will diminish.

10 posted on 02/28/2018 10:48:08 AM PST by William Tell
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To: Morgana

States are on their own for this one.


11 posted on 02/28/2018 10:49:49 AM PST by DoodleDawg
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To: Mariner

If you have no sympathy for an addict, then I highly doubt you have actually dealt with one.

The oppiod crisis in particular is mainly due to the fact, doctors and drug companies INTENTIONALLY turned these people into addicts. These aren’t kids who experiment and get beyond their ability to control, these are people prescribed some of the most addictive substances known by doctors... and the drug companies flat out lied about the addiction risks... Then when the prescriptions run out, they fall back on street drugs if they aren’t wealthy enough to buy a doctor to write them more scripts...

Having no sympathy for these people speaks to the condition of your heart, not theirs.


12 posted on 02/28/2018 10:52:22 AM PST by HamiltonJay
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To: Morgana

How come?


13 posted on 02/28/2018 10:55:08 AM PST by RevelationDavid (Jesus First, no matter the cost.)
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To: Mariner

Well, if your loved one passes away at home and the mortuary has to pick up the body.....then hold it for a week so all the relatives can come say goodbye.....then transport the body to the county seat where the cremation happens.....then the cost is $2,500. The cremation business is big bucks sometimes.


14 posted on 02/28/2018 10:55:33 AM PST by originalbuckeye ('In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act'- George Orwell.)
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To: William Tell

As long as doctors are prescribing these things like candy, you aren’t going to see the epidemic end. The entire medical system intentionally created these addicts for personal gain. They lied about their addictiveness, gave kick backs to doctors... The people who did this are NOT BETTER than the street dealers giving the first taste for free to children.

There are many people who’s heads should be on PIKES for this... There is absolutely no difference between the people that did this and the gangs that sell drugs on the streets, other than they got they lied to the government and the population about what their drugs were.


15 posted on 02/28/2018 10:55:40 AM PST by HamiltonJay
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To: Morgana

We need the death penalty for drug dealers NOW.


16 posted on 02/28/2018 10:57:51 AM PST by kaehurowing
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To: Morgana

“Christians could never be creamated or ever encourage it.”

Please cite the Biblical prohibition?


17 posted on 02/28/2018 10:58:20 AM PST by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: William Tell
I think the Black Plague burned itself out after having reached some critical mass.

Yes, that will happen. This is our modern plague. We create the conditions of our own destruction. in 1340 it was fleas, now its social policy, government policy, even massive fiscal debt supporting the nanny-state and pharma-industrial complex.

18 posted on 02/28/2018 10:58:43 AM PST by PGR88
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To: Morgana

Just my opinion, but I think everyone deserves a proper burial. Even addicts. It really is sad to think that people have screwed up their lives so badly with drugs and/or alcohol that they have nothing left and no family who wants to claim them when they die. Cremation may be a good option. I wonder if there is a charity that handles things like this.


19 posted on 02/28/2018 11:03:35 AM PST by Opinionated Blowhard ("When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.")
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To: Morgana

After a certain time on ice, they should be donated to medical schools.


20 posted on 02/28/2018 11:03:55 AM PST by Ruy Dias de Bivar (Re-open the insane asylums, stop drugging the kids.)
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