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More than 93,000 people died from drug overdoses in the United States last year, a record number that reflects a 30% increase from 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In new provisional data released on Wednesday, health officials found the rise in fatal overdoses was primarily triggered by pandemic-related stressors, inaccessibility of treatment and the proliferation of fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid. .
Using the CDC’s number of 375,000 Covid-related deaths over the past year, fatal overdoses have accounted for a quarter as many deaths as Covid-19. The 93,331 fatal overdoses in the past year mark a large increase from 72,151 deaths in 2019, reflecting the largest increase in at least three decades. 69,710 deaths in 2020 alone were due to opioids.
Before 2016, more Americans died each year from heroin overdoses than from synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. However, as fentanyl is increasingly mixed with other illegal drugs such as heroin and cocaine, often unbeknownst to the user, the number of fatal synthetic opioid overdoses has increased dramatically.
In the past year, fentanyl has been involved in over 60% of overdose deaths.
Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than morphine and heroin, and is often sold illegally for its heroin-like effects, including euphoria. According to the CDC, it also takes very little to produce a high with fentanyl, making it a much cheaper option for traffickers and drug users.
Deaths from methamphetamine and cocaine overdoses have also increased significantly, according to the CDC.
As fatal overdoses skyrocket, communities of color have witnessed a significant increase in drug overdose deaths. In a 2019 report from the Minnesota Department of Health, African Americans were twice as likely to die from drug overdoses as whites, while Native Americans were seven times as likely to die from drug overdoses as whites. Overall, opioids are the leading cause of fatal overdoses among whites, African Americans, and Native Americans.
Ten states are expected to see an increase of at least 40% in overdose deaths from the previous year: Virginia, Louisiana, California, Arkansas, Nebraska, South Carolina, Kentucky, Vermont, West Virginia and Tennessee.
Earlier this month, 15 states signed an agreement with Oxycontin maker Purdue Pharma to revamp and tackle the opioid crisis. In June, Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay $ 230 million to settle a New York State opioid lawsuit.
In 2019, more than 3,000 states, local governments, and Native American tribes demanded $ 26.4 billion from big drug companies to pay for the damage caused by the opioid crisis. Many accuse companies of pushing opioids to be prescribed and dispensed beyond their medical necessity, creating widespread addiction and increasing the prevalence of opioid drug abuse on the streets.
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