US Overdose Deaths from Fentanyl and Synthetic Opioids Doubled in 2016

September 4, 2017

(The Guardian) – The number of drug overdose deaths in the US increased by 21% last year, according to new statistics – with synthetic-opioid fatalities more than doubling in number. The National Center for Health Statistics, a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC) estimates that drug overdoses killed 64,070 people in the US last year, a rise of 21% over the 52,898 drug overdose deaths recorded in 2015. The epidemic of drug overdoses is killing people at almost double the rate of both firearm and motor vehicle-related death. The statistics posted on the CDC website are the latest available on the gathering opioid crisis. The agency says they will be updated on a monthly basis.