NBC News (9/14, Sullivan) reports, “The U.S. is in the throes of what researchers have deemed a ‘fourth wave’ of the opioid crisis, a phase characterized by overdose deaths caused by the combination of stimulants and the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl.” Drug “overdose deaths in the U.S. surpassed 100,000 for the first time in 2021, fueled by the rise of synthetic opioids” like fentanyl, “which accounted for 75% of those deaths.” However, “now it has taken on a new challenge: so-called polysubstance overdoses, which include more than one drug.” The share “of overdoses involving fentanyl and a stimulant – most commonly cocaine and methamphetamine – increased more than 50 fold from 2010 to 2021, a study published Thursday in the journal Addiction found.”
ABC News (9/14, Koirala, Aggarwal) reports, “In 2010, only .6% of overdose deaths involved fentanyl combined with stimulants, according to the analysis.” And “that year, fentanyl was most commonly found mixed in with prescription opioids and benzodiazepines.” However, “by 2021, 32.3% of overdose deaths involved the combination of fentanyl and stimulants.”
Related Links:
— “Fentanyl plus stimulants drives ‘fourth wave’ of overdose epidemic in the U.S.,” Kaitlin Sullivan, NBC News, September 14, 2023