Overdose Deaths Increased <br />by 15 Percent in 2021, CDC Reports.<br />According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of overdose deaths in 2021 was almost 108,000.<br />This equates to a 15 percent increase from the year before on top of the nearly 30 percent increase in overdose deaths reported in 2020.<br />Officials say the epidemic is being fueled by the widespread availability of meth and fentanyl.<br />There’s an intertwined synthetics epidemic the likes of which <br />we’ve never seen, Dr. Dan Ciccarone, UC San Francisco, <br />via 'The New York Times'.<br />We’ve never seen a powerful opioid such as fentanyl <br />being mixed with such a <br />potent methamphetamine, Dr. Dan Ciccarone, UC San Francisco, <br />via 'The New York Times'.<br />Fentanyl is cheaper and easier to manufacture and distribute than heroin.<br />It is also more potent than heroin, often resulting in deadly consequences.<br />The economics of fentanyl have just been pushing the other drugs out of the market, Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, Johns Hopkins University, <br />via 'The New York Times'.<br />It’s just so cheap to buy fentanyl and turn around and put it <br />in whatever, Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, Johns Hopkins University, <br />via 'The New York Times'.<br />As the COVID pandemic continues to wane, officials say the increase in overdose deaths can <br />no longer be attributed to isolation.<br />In the beginning stages <br />of the pandemic, we were <br />attributing the increase to life <br />being disrupted, Kelly Dougherty, Deputy Health Commissioner of VT, via 'The New York Times'.<br />What is really the primary driver is the presence of fentanyl in the drug supply, Kelly Dougherty, Deputy Health Commissioner of VT, via 'The New York Times'.<br />The Biden administration recently announced a new approach to the epidemic that focuses on "harm reduction" rather than abstinence.<br />While the new approach has the potential to save lives, state officials say it may not be enough to <br />combat the accessibility of fentanyl.<br />You can have the most robust treatment system and not everybody is going to avail themselves of it when maybe <br />they should, or before they <br />end up overdosing, Kelly Dougherty, Deputy Health Commissioner of VT, via 'The New York Times'
