A Record 107,000 Americans Died Of A Drug Overdose Last Year
The nation's drug epidemic is deepening, with overdoses rising almost 50% in just two years. Fueled largely by opioids, there have been over 1 million fatal overdoses in the U.S. since the turn of the century.
The Washington Post:
U.S. Surpasses Record 100,000 Overdose Deaths In 2021
More Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021 than any previous year, a grim milestone in an epidemic that has now claimed 1 million lives in the 21st century, according to federal data released Wednesday. More than 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, up 15 percent from the previous year, according to an estimate released by the National Center for Health Statistics. The tally of 107,622 reflects challenges exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic: lost access to treatment, social isolation and a more potent drug supply. (Kornfield, 5/11)
Politico:
U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths Surpass 107,000 Last Year, Another Record
The rapid spike in overdose fatalities — deaths are up nearly 50 percent in two years — presents a grave challenge to the Biden administration as it seeks to manage the twin crises of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and worsening opioid epidemic. Drug policy experts argue the administration needs to apply the same urgency to stopping opioid deaths that it’s brought to its Covid-19 response. “We need to learn to walk and chew gum at the same time,” said Jerome Adams, former U.S. surgeon general and a member of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Opioid Crisis Task Force. “Covid is not going to go away.” (Mahr, 5/11)
USA Today:
Illicit Fentanyl Propels Overdose Deaths In US To New Record
Though the numbers are subject to change as medical examiners finish death investigations and report all cases nationwide, experts say the figures underscore the powerful and dangerous reach of predominately illicit drugs and drug combinations. While prescription painkillers and heroin drove the nation's overdose epidemic last decade, the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl is now responsible for most overdose deaths. Overdose deaths from fentanyl climbed to 71,238 last year from 57,834 in 2020, according to the CDC. (Alltucker, 5/11)
Colorado tries to stem its fentanyl crisis —
AP:
Colorado Lawmakers Scramble To Address Fentanyl Crisis On 2022 Session's Last Day
On the last day of the 2022 session, Colorado’s Democratic-led Legislature scrambled Wednesday to pass key bills to attack the fentanyl crisis and promote more affordable housing after overcoming a stonewalling effort by House minority Republicans that put dozens of bills in limbo earlier this week. Gov. Jared Polis and fellow Democrats had pledged at the start of the four-month session to tackle rising crime and soaring inflation — key issues highlighted by minority Republicans heading into this year’s midterm elections. (5/11)
Colorado Sun:
Here's What's In Colorado's New Fentanyl Bill
With just hours to spare in its 2022 lawmaking term, the Colorado legislature on Wednesday night sent House Bill 1326, the Fentanyl Accountability and Prevention Act, to Gov. Jared Polis to be signed into law. The contentious legislation, which was still being amended up until its passage, is lawmakers’ response to rising fentanyl overdose deaths in the state. More than 900 Coloradans died from a fentanyl overdose last year, according to state health department data, including four children under the age 1, and 35 people between the ages of 10 and 18. In 2020, 540 people died from a fentanyl overdose in Colorado. (Najmabadi and Paul, 5/11)
In other news on the drug crisis —
AP:
Judge To Decide How Much Pharmacies Owe Over Opioid Crisis
A hearing has begun in federal court in Cleveland for a judge to determine how much CVS, Walgreens and Walmart pharmacies should pay two Ohio counties to help them ease the ongoing costs and problems caused by the opioid crisis. A jury in November found the pharmacy chains responsible for recklessly distributing massive amounts of pain pills in Lake and Trumbull counties. It was the first time pharmacies in the U.S. have been held responsible for the opioid crisis. (Gillispie, 5/10)
Axios:
Opioid Abuse Treatments Don't Reach Those Most At Risk
Drugs for treating opioid abuse aren’t reaching most high-risk patients, potentially widening gaps in care as overdose deaths hit record highs. New provisional data show a 15% surge in overdose deaths during the pandemic, rekindling a debate over whether enough Americans in the throes of the addiction crisis have access to potentially life-saving treatments. Nearly 53% of patients with opioid use disorder were not prescribed buprenorphine, which reduces the risk of future overdoses, according to a new analysis of insurance claims from about 180,000 people. (Bettelheim, 5/12)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Narcan Is A Powerful Tool In Stopping Overdoses. Here's How Many Lives In San Francisco It's Saved So Far
Based on computer modeling using public health data, city and UCSF researchers estimated that robust access to naloxone, commonly known by the commercial name Narcan, could have reduced fentanyl-involved overdose death rates in San Francisco by about 12%. Based on the number of deaths in 2021, that would translate to about 57 people. “We’re still preventing a good number of deaths even in the context of a profound increase in mortality,” said Dr. Phillip Coffin, the city’s substance use research director and the lead author of the study. (Jung, 5/10)
Also —
AP:
Child Dies Of Suspected Fentanyl Overdose, Parents Arrested
The parents of a 15-month-old toddler were arrested for her death after the child was found unresponsive in their Northern California home where police found drug paraphernalia and fentanyl, authorities said. Evan Frostick, 26, and Madison Bernard, 23, were arrested at their Santa Rosa apartment and booked for alleged cruelty to a child likely to produce great bodily injury or death, Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Christian Mahurin said Wednesday. (5/11)
