The Washington Post (5/11, Kornfield) reports, “More Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021 than any previous year, a grim milestone in an epidemic that has now claimed 1 million lives in the 21st century, according to federal datareleased Wednesday.” Over “100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, up 15 percent from the previous year, according to an estimate released by the National Center for Health Statistics.”
The New York Times (5/11, A1, Weiland, Sanger-Katz) reports that “a growing share of deaths continue to come from overdoses involving fentanyl…and methamphetamine.”
The AP (5/11, Stobbe) reports “overdoses involving fentanyl and other synthetic opioids surpassed 71,000.” Also, there was “a 23% increase in deaths involving cocaine and a 34% increase in deaths involving meth and other stimulants.”
USA Today (5/11, Alltucker) and the Wall Street Journal (5/11, Kamp, Subscription Publication) also report.
Related Links:
— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)