Drug deaths: Fentanyl sets record
The nation’s drug overdose epidemic worsened in 2021 as deaths surpassed 100,000 in the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics figures released Wednesday show a record 107,622 drug overdose deaths in 2021, a 14.9% increase from 93,655 overdose deaths the year before.
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.
Illicit versions of fentanyl have increasingly been manufactured in clandestine labs overseas, sold on the black market and mixed with other street drugs. The street version is different from legal fentanyl, a powerful pain medicine vetted by the Food and Drug Administration and prescribed in medical settings to treat intense pain in cancer patients.
Illicit fentanyl has been the driving cause of the latest wave of overdose deaths, said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
“The synthetic opioid fentanyl has injected itself throughout our whole country,” Volkow said. “It’s everywhere.”
Stimulants such as methamphetamine were detected in 32,856 overdose deaths and cocaine in 24,538 deaths. In many cases, more than one drug is found in a fatal mixture of substances.