US overdose deaths hit record 107,000 last year

Deb Walker visits the grave of her daughter, Brooke Goodwin. Brooke died in March 2021 of an overdose.
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Over 107,000 People died of drug overdoses in 2021, translating to roughly one deadly overdose each 5 minutes, the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention reported Wednesday.

The rise in US overdose deaths started within the Nineteen Nineties with an uptick in abuse of opioid painkillers, adopted by comparable developments involving heroin and illicit fentanyl.

In 2021, there have been over 71,000 deadly overdoses involving fentanyl and artificial opioids, up 23% from the earlier 12 months. There was additionally a 23% enhance in cocaine-related deaths and a 34% rise in deaths involving meth and different stimulants. 

The preliminary 2021 estimate additionally marks a 15% enhance from the earlier report set in 2020. Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the Nationwide Institute on Drug Abuse, known as the newest statistics “actually staggering.”

Over 100,000 folks died of overdoses final 12 months.

The nation’s escalating overdose epidemic.

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A show of fentanyl and meth that was seized by Customs and Border Safety officers.

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Consultants attributed the stunning estimate to issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, as lockdowns additional remoted these fighting habit and made therapy choices harder.

Overdose deaths are additionally geographically uneven, with Alaska seeing a 75% leap — the biggest of any state — whereas drug fatalities in Hawaii fell by 2%. 

Drug fatalities are sometimes attributed to a number of substances. Low cost fentanyl particularly is usually reduce with different medicine with out the customer’s information.

Officers stroll previous pictures of unlawful medicine outdoors the Edward R. Roybal Federal Constructing.

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Cheryl Juaire poses for an image with images of her sons who died from overdoses.

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“The web impact is that we've got many extra folks, together with those that use medicine often and even adolescents, uncovered to those potent substances that may trigger somebody to overdose even with a comparatively small publicity,” Volkow mentioned.