The opioid crisis is getting worse, particularly for black Americans
Drug deaths among blacks in urban counties rose by 41 percent in 2016, far outpacing any other racial or ethnic group
The New York Times (US)
Friday, December 22, 2017
Friday, December 22, 2017
The epidemic of drug overdoses, often perceived as a largely white rural problem, made striking inroads among black Americans last year — particularly in urban counties where fentanyl has become widespread. Although the steep rise in 2016 drug deaths has been noted previously, these are the first numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to break down 2016 mortality along geographic and racial lines. They reveal that the drug death rate is rising most steeply among blacks. Fentanyl-laced cocaine, too, may be playing a role. A study found that cocaine-related overdose deaths were nearly as common among black men between 2012-2015 as deaths due to prescription opioids in white men over the same period.
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