U.S .annual overdose deaths surpass 100,000, a new high

The CDC has released some new (still preliminary) data on drug overdose deaths in the U.S.

Here's the NYT:

Overdose Deaths Continue Rising, With Fentanyl and Meth Key Culprits. New data shows a surge in overdose deaths involving fentanyl and methamphetamine. Overall, the nation saw a 15 percent increase in deaths from overdoses in 2021.  By Noah Weiland and Margot Sanger-Katz

"After a catastrophic increase in 2020, deaths from drug overdoses rose again to record-breaking levels in 2021, nearing 108,000, the result of an ever-worsening fentanyl crisis, according to preliminary new data published on Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The increase of nearly 15 percent followed a much steeper rise of almost 30 percent in 2020, an unrelenting crisis that has consumed federal and state drug policy officials. Since the 1970s, the number of drug overdose deaths has increased every year except 2018.

...

"Drug overdoses, which long ago surged above the country’s peak deaths from AIDS, car crashes and guns, killed about a quarter as many Americans last year as Covid-19.

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The Guardian  also has the story:

‘Completely devastating’: US passes 1m overdose deaths since records began. 2021 was a record year for overdose deaths with an estimated 107,622, CDC says, an increase of 15% from the previous year  by Melody Schreiber

"US overdose deaths in 2021 [were] a record year for such fatalities with an estimated 107,622, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday.

"It was an increase of 15% from the previous year, which was also a record.

"The US has now passed 1m overdose deaths since the CDC began collecting data about two decades ago.

"The surge in deaths in 2021 was fueled primarily by fentanyl, a highly dangerous synthetic opioid that accounted for about 70% of fatalities.

"Black American men and boys have the highest fatality rates from drug overdoses, followed closely by American Indian and Alaska Native men and boys – a significant increase among these demographics in recent years.

...

"The almost fiftyfold increase in illicit pills containing fentanyl happened between 2018 and 2021, she said – a “huge proliferation”.

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Here's a CDC chart:

12 Month-ending Provisional Number and Percent Change of Drug Overdose Deaths