100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in the pandemic year

The U.S. drug epidemic reached another terrible milestone Wednesday when the government announced that more than 100,000 people had died of overdoses between April 2020 and April 2021. It is the first time that drug-related deaths have reached six figures in any 12-month period.

The people who died — 275 every day — would fill the stadium where the University of Alabama plays football. Together, they equal the population of Roanoke, Va.

There are now more overdose deaths from the illegal synthetic opioid fentanyl than there were overdose deaths from all drugs in 2016. In the recent data from the CDC, it was found that New Jersey showed a statistically significant increase in drug overdose deaths. 

Despite the efforts of governments, health care providers, activists and others, the problem is getting worse — much worse. The new figures, which are provisional but rarely change much in final tallies, represent a 28.5 percent increase from the same period a year earlier.

The financial, mental health, housing, and other difficulties of the covid-19 pandemic are widely blamed for much of the increase.

President Biden said in a statement on the overdose death data that “as we continue to make strides to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot overlook this epidemic of loss, which has touched families and communities across the country.”

At a news conference Wednesday, other senior government officials acknowledged the increasing severity of the drug crisis, which has prompted the Biden administration to focus more effort on harm-reduction strategies. These include distributing the overdose antidote naloxone and fentanyl test strips to users, to keep them alive while the government expands prevention and treatment programs.

“It’s time to face the fact that this crisis seems to be getting worse,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. “We need all hands on deck.”

Drug Enforcement Administration chief Anne Milgram also noted a rise in fentanyl seizures, which she said has reached 12,000 pounds in 2021. That is enough to give every American “a lethal dose” of the powerful opioid, Milgram said. Increased use of methamphetamine, sometimes laced with fentanyl, is also a factor, she said.

Overdose deaths are not evenly distributed across the United States. The worst of the crisis has shifted geographically over the past 20 years, as illegal users of pharmaceutical opioids turned to heroin and then illicit fentanyl. But Appalachia always has been hit hard.

The number of opioid prescriptions issued by health-care providers has declined sharply as the crisis continues. Twenty years ago, doctors were aggressively treating pain as “the fifth vital sign.” Drug companies contributed to the idea that powerful painkillers could be used for a wide variety of ailments, not just cancer and end-of-life care. But as the addiction crisis ensued, physicians have cut back.

Addiction preys on young and middle-aged adults, who make up the bulk of those with drug-related substance use disorder. (Alcohol-related SUDs are not included in the chart below.)

To save more lives from drug overdose, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently launched four complementary education campaigns intended to reach young adults ages 18—34 years.

The campaigns provide information about the prevalence and dangers of fentanyl, the risks and consequences of mixing drugs, the life-saving power of naloxone, and the importance of reducing stigma around drug use to support treatment and recovery.

CDC spoke directly with young adults who reported using drugs, as well as peer recovery professionals, to develop the campaigns. Each campaign includes new resources on all four topics to help people make informed decisions, get the help they need, and ultimately reduce the rise in drug overdoses and overdose deaths.

“This critical information can help all of us save a life from overdose and support people who use drugs in treatment and recovery,” said Debra Houry, MD, MPH, acting principal deputy director of CDC.

To learn more about overdose prevention efforts, visit www.cdc.gov/stopoverdose.