CDC: Annual Drug Overdose Deaths Top 100,000, a Record High

According to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics released this week, there were an estimated 100,306 drug overdose deaths in the US for the 12 months ending in April 2021, a record high and a 28.5% increase over the same period a year prior.

Opioid-involved deaths in particular have spiked, with the potent, highly concentrated synthetic fentanyl playing a significant role. CDC estimates the number of opioid-involved deaths increased to 75,673, up from 56,064 year-over-year. The presence of fentanyl is also being linked with deaths involving psychostimulants such as methamphetamine and cocaine, as dealers mix fentanyl with other drugs. Psychostimulant-involved deaths were up 48% year-over-year. Deaths from natural and semi-synthetic opioids (such as prescription pain medications) also increased.

“What we’re seeing are the effects of these patterns of crisis and the appearance of more dangerous drugs at much lower prices,” Nora Volkow, MD, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, told CNN. “In a crisis of this magnitude, those already taking drugs may take higher amounts and those in recovery may relapse. It’s a phenomenon we’ve seen and perhaps could have predicted.”

Overdose deaths increased in all but 4 states: Delaware, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and South Dakota. The states hit hardest were Vermont, which saw a 70% year-over-year increase, followed by West Virginia (62%), and Kentucky (55%).

Anne Milgram, administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, told the Associated Press that cartels in Mexico are producing fentanyl and methamphetamine with chemicals acquired from China, and distributing the illicit substances across the United States. DEA has seized a record 12,000 pounds of fentanyl this year, Milgram said.

In an address to attendees of the Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit in April, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in prepared remarks that disrupting the flow of opioids, especially synthetics such as fentanyl, was “an urgent national priority.” Blinken said the State Department has pressed China to address the production and sale of precursor chemicals used to produce synthetic drugs, and has collaborated with Mexico to cut down on trafficking across the southern border of the United States.