The FINANCIAL — Overall, drug overdose deaths rose from 2019 to 2022 with 107,941 drug overdose deaths reported in 2022. Deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily illicitly manufactured fentanyl) continued to rise with 73,838 overdose deaths reported in 2022. Those involving stimulants, including cocaine or psychostimulants with abuse potential (primarily methamphetamine), also continued to increase with 27,569 and 34,022 respective deaths in 2022 (Source: CDC WONDER).
Drug overdose deaths involving prescription opioids rose from 3,442 in 1999 to 17,029 in 2017. From 2017 to 2019, the number of deaths declined to 14,139. This was followed by a slight increase in 2020, with 16,416 reported deaths. In 2022, the number of deaths declined to 14,716. Fentanyl involvement in fatalities that also involved prescription opioid drugs has steadily increased since 2014.
Drug overdose deaths involving heroin rose from 3,036 in 2010 to 15,469 in 2016. Since 2016, the number of deaths has trended down with 13,165 deaths reported in 2020, 9,173 reported deaths in 2021, and 5,871 reported deaths in 2022.
Drug overdose deaths involving psychostimulants with abuse potential (primarily methamphetamine) rose from 5,716 in 2015 to 34,022 deaths in 2022.
Drug overdose deaths involving cocaine rose steadily from 6,784 in 2015 to 15,883 in 2019; and again from 2019 to 2022, with a 73.5% increase to 27,569 deaths. The number of deaths in combination with fentanyl has increased significantly since 2015 and is the main driver of cocaine-involved overdose deaths (Source: CDC WONDER).
Drug overdose deaths involving benzodiazepines steadily increased from 1,135 in 1999 to 11,537 in 2017 followed by a decline to 9,711 deaths in 2019. Between 2019 and 2021, deaths rose again to 12,499. In 2022, the number of drug overdose deaths involving benzodiazepines declined to 10,964 (Source: CDC WONDER).
Drug overdose deaths involving antidepressants have steadily risen from 1,749 in 1999 to 5,863 in 2022
Taking a look at their risk for overdose, their drug schedule and their potential for addiction, the most dangerous drugs become apparent.
Fentanyl. – Addiction Potential: Extremely high. …
Heroin. – Addiction Potential: Very high. …
Cocaine. …
Methamphetamine. …
Alcohol. …
Benzodiazepines. …
Oxycodone (OxyContin)
US drug overdose deaths have declined, CDC says
Overall, overdose deaths declined by roughly 14% from June 2023 to June 2024.
It’s an encouraging sign, experts say. Overdose deaths had been on a steady rise since the 1990s, with a jump during the pandemic, according to CDC data.
More than 108,000 people died from overdose deaths in the 12 months leading up to both June 2022 and 2023, but by this June that number had dropped to 97,000.
Some of the states that saw the largest rates of decrease were North Carolina (-30%), Ohio (-24%) and Virginia (-23%).
The decline marks a notable change in overdose trends that have troubled the US for three decades, initially fuelled by prescription opioids and later by the rise of heroin and synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
Prescription opioids overdose deaths rose sharply from 3,442 in 1999 to 17,029 in 2017. Deaths declined afterwards but rose again in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic amid increasing social isolation.
Experts are unsure of what exactly is causing the current decline in overdose deaths but attribute some of it to a post-pandemic return to normalcy.
Money going into the hardest hit communities has increased the availability of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone and addiction treatments such as buprenorphine.
In the latest CDC data, overdose death reports are down in most US states, though some did see an increase.
In Alaska, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington the number of overdose death reports rose.
Cannabis and hallucinogen use among adults remained at historic highs in 2023
Past-year use of cannabis and hallucinogens stayed at historically high levels in 2023 among adults aged 19 to 30 and 35 to 50, according to the latest findings from the Monitoring the Future survey.
Reports of vaping nicotine or vaping cannabis in the past year among adults 19 to 30 rose over five years, and both trends remained at record highs in 2023. Among adults 35 to 50, the prevalences of nicotine vaping and of cannabis vaping stayed steady from the year before, with long-term (five and 10 year) trends not yet observable in this age group as this question was added to the survey for this age group in 2019.
For the first time in 2023, 19- to 30-year-old female respondents reported a higher prevalence of past-year cannabis use than male respondents in the same age group, reflecting a reversal of the gap between sexes. Conversely, male respondents 35 to 50 years old maintained a higher prevalence of past-year cannabis use than female respondents of the same age group, consistent with what’s been observed for the past decade.
Cannabis use in the past year and past month remained at historically high levels for both adult age groups in 2023. Among adults 19 to 30 years old, approximately 42% reported cannabis use in the past year, 29% in the past month, and 10% daily use (use on 20 or more occasions in the past 30 days). Among adults 35 to 50, reports of use reached 29%, 19%, and 8%, respectively. While these 2023 estimates are not statistically different from those of 2022, they do reflect five- and 10-year increases for both age groups.
Cannabis vaping in the past year and past month was reported by 22% and 14% of adults 19 to 30, respectively, and by 9% and 6% of adults 35 to 50 in 2023. For the younger group, these numbers represent all-time study highs and an increase from five years ago.
Nicotine vaping among adults 19 to 30 maintained historic highs in 2023. Reports of past-year and past-month vaping of nicotine reached 25% and 19%, respectively. These percentages represent an increase from five years ago, but not from one year ago. For adults 35 to 50, the prevalence of vaping nicotine remained steady from the year before (2022), with 7% and 5% reporting past-year and past-month use.
Hallucinogen use in the past year continued a five-year steep incline for both adult groups, reaching 9% for adults 19 to 30 and 4% for adults 35 to 50 in 2023. Types of hallucinogens reported by participants included LSD, mescaline, peyote, shrooms or psilocybin, and PCP.
Alcohol remains the most used substance reported among adults in the study. Past-year alcohol use among adults 19 to 30 has showed a slight upward trend over the past five years, with 84% reporting use in 2023. However, past month drinking (65%), daily drinking (4%), and binge drinking (27%) all remained at study lows in 2023 among adults 19 to 30. These numbers have decreased from 10 years ago. Past-month drinking and binge drinking (having five or more drinks in a row in the past two week period) decreased significantly from the year before for this age group (down from 68% for past month and 31% for binge drinking reported in 2022).
Around 84% of adults 35 to 50 reported past-year alcohol use in 2023, which has not significantly changed from the year before or the past five or 10 years. Past-month alcohol use and binge drinking have slightly increased over the past 10 years for this age group; in 2023, past-month alcohol use was at 69% and binge drinking was at 27%. Daily drinking has decreased in this group over the past five years and was at its lowest level ever recorded in 2023 (8%).
Additional data: In 2023, past-month cigarette smoking, past-year nonmedical use of prescription drugs, and past-year use of opioid medications (surveyed as “narcotics other than heroin”) maintained five- and 10-year declines for both adult groups. Among adults 19 to 30 years old, past-year use of stimulants (surveyed as “amphetamines”) has decreased for the past decade, whereas for adults 35 to 50, past-year stimulant use has been modestly increasing over 10 years. Additional data include drug use reported by college/non-college young adults and among various demographic subgroups, including sex and gender and race and ethnicity.
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