Why did methadone-related deaths decrease when all other opioid-related deaths increased during the period 2007-2010? Can this decrease in methadone-related deaths be attributed to a large group practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique and its advanced program, the TM-Sidhi program as defined here: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/muom-fsf030917.php https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/muom-fsf030917.php ? Summary: (See links to official figures and line graphs here) https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FairfieldLife/conversations/messages/434434 https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FairfieldLife/conversations/messages/434434 Based on the official figures and having come to the conclusion that – contrary to the claims of the Maharishi University of Management research above – opioid-related deaths clearly increased during the defined period of 2007-2010, the question arises: “Then why did methadone-related deaths decrease during the said period of 2007-2010 compared to deaths through the use of: Natural opioids Synthetic opioids (excluding methadone) Heroin …all of which did increase?” It seems almost certain that the decrease in methadone deaths began in late 2006 due to: The December 2006 issuance of the Food and Drug Administration’s Public Health Advisory on prescribing methadone that linked reports of respiratory depression and cardiac arrhythmias with the possibility of unintentional overdoses, drug interactions, or cardiac toxicity; And the decline continued in 2008 with the voluntary manufacturer restriction limiting the 40 mg formulation of methadone. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention official report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), states that these two events (1 & 2 above) were likely to have contributed to declines in methadone overdose death rates. (See link below). https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/wr/mm6612a2.htm https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/wr/mm6612a2.htm Furthermore, the deaths caused through methadone were primarily due to prescriptions for pain management and not due to opioid-use disorders in community-based opioid treatment programs: “because methadone prescribed to treat opioid use disorders is tightly regulated (including an extra set of special standards) (9), the preponderance of methadone-associated morbidity and mortality likely arises from its use for pain.” Therefore: 1) The decrease of deaths through methadone use is attributable to the Food and Drug Administration’s Public Health Advisory (Dec. 2006), the initiation of the research of which must have occurred long before the defined period of 2007-2010 chosen by MUM as the period in which drug-related deaths decrease (so the MUM claim cannot even be attributable to the initiation of the research into the inspired Food and Drug Administration’s Public Health Advisory of Dec. 2006). 2) The claim (by MUM) that “The rate of US drug-related fatalities fell 30.4% nationwide from 2007 to 2010 due to the reductions in societal stress and increased alertness in the individuals in society” is a real-time claim insinuating that it was the consciousness of the individual drug-user that was affected and therefore the individual drug-user used less drugs or stopped using drugs between the years 2007-2010 resulting in less deaths – thus after 2010 (and the cessation of the MUM-defined period for group meditation of 2007-2010), the decrease in deaths through methadone abuse should stop decreasing to align with the MUM claim, but the decrease continues until the end of data recording (2014), further distancing the MUM claim that the 2007-2010 group mediation directly influenced the reduction in drug-related deaths. Overall conclusion: The MUM research has no genuine claim to even the decrease in methadone-related deaths between 2007-2010. The claim (by MUM) that “The rate of US drug-related fatalities fell 30.4% nationwide from 2007 to 2010” is simply untrue in real world figures because the rate of US drug-related fatalities increased except for methadone which will have had a slowing effect on the overall opioid-related death statistics (again, see links to official figures and line graphs here…) https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FairfieldLife/conversations/messages/434434 https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FairfieldLife/conversations/messages/434434 Personally, as much as I would like to believe the MUM claims, I must now view all such claims with critical suspicion. I feel that there is some serious barking to do but MUM is doing it up the wrong tree. Regards.
---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <upfronter@...> wrote : https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/muom-fsf030917.php https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/muom-fsf030917.php “The researchers first calculated a baseline trend for monthly fatality rates during 2002-2006, and then used time series intervention analysis to compare that baseline with the corresponding trend for the intervention period 2007-2010. A rapidly rising trend in the drug-related fatality rate (see Figure 1) during the baseline period leveled out and slowed significantly when the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi group exceeded 1,725 participants beginning in January 2007 (vertical dashed line). This flatter trend continued through 2010.” OK, these are “drug-related fatalities in general”, but, according to the TM researchers' hypothesis for the intervention period 2007-2010, drug overdose fatalities by opioid should show a fairly similar trend. Well, considering there is almost some kind of bias in groups of people with agendas, I have to ask myself which graphs do I trust to be presented in as unbiased a manner as possible? Now, to me, perhaps a science simpleton compared to those distinguished and knowledgeable men and women, I would rather that facts be presented to me plainly and simply, laying aside time-series-intervention-analysis for see-the-data-as-it-really-is pictorially. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6450a3.htm https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6450a3.htm See FIGURE 2. Drug overdose deaths involving opioids, by type of opioid — United States, 2000–2014 So, forgive this one for his ignorance but to me the data here does not show a marked decrease for the intervention period 2007-2010 for drug overdose deaths involving: * Opioids --------- * Natural and semisynthetic opioids ----- ----- * Synthetic opioids (excluding methadone) ----- ----- -- * Heroin -- -- -- Only methadone appears to have decreased over the intervention period (2007-2010) to which the TM ME claim could be attributed, but this decrease continues well beyond the intervention period through to 2014. Indeed: * Natural and semisynthetic opioid deaths increase during the intervention period (2007-2010) up until 2011 and then decrease (2012, 2013). * Synthetic opioid (excluding methadone) deaths rise during the intervention period (2007-2010) and decrease for a couple of years after the intervention period (2011, 2012). This cannot be blamed on synthetic opioids (if that is a reason?) because deaths by heroin clearly increased to the highest level during the claimed intervention period (2007-2010) since the year 2000 (which makes complete sense as *the increase in heroin initiates reached its peak (2009) during the intervention period (2007-2010). See FIGURE 2 * https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/report_1943/ShortReport-1943.html https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/report_1943/ShortReport-1943.html Personally, the TM Sidhi program, even just the TM part, revives and rejuvenates me with the aliveness of something ‘special’ which is just waiting to be tapped in such a simple manner. My life would not be the same and I am eternally grateful for this meditation practice. I would love for the TM ME research claims to be true but at present I personally consider them well overstated even with the best intentions. I rather think that the power and energy created is more localised to the group itself and while there may be an enlivening and purification in the finer etheric environment elsewhere, it is not on the scale claimed, for if it were, I think we would see very different graphs. It is more about influence than anything else in my opinion. A calm, patient, kind, determined, disciplined, selfless, enlivened being can meet 100 people in a week and raise their consciousness even in the smallest, most subtle and even unintentional manner. 1%. Surely 1 in 100 can do this through regular meditation.
