The first count of fentanyl deaths in 2016: Up 540% in three years
The explosion in fentanyl deaths and the persistence of widespread opioid addiction have swamped local and state resources
The New York Times (US)
Saturday, September 2, 2017
Saturday, September 2, 2017
Drug overdoses killed roughly 64,000 people in the United States last year, according to the first governmental account of nationwide drug deaths to cover all of 2016. It’s a staggering rise of more than 22 percent over the 52,404 drug deaths recorded the previous year — and even higher than The New York Times’s estimate in June, which was based on earlier preliminary data. Together they add up to an epidemic of drug overdoses that is killing people at a faster rate than the H.I.V. epidemic at its peak. (See also: We’re undercounting opioid overdoses by thousands)
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