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Today’s Heroin Epidemic | VitalSigns | CDC

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Today’s Heroin Epidemic | VitalSigns | CDC

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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The Federal government is

Providing educational training and resources to health care providers so they can make informed decisions and ensure the appropriate prescribing of opioid painkillers. This includes:

Developing prescribing guidelines for chronic pain.

Supporting the use of prescription drug monitoring programs (electronic databases that track the dispensing of certain drugs) as a routine part of clinical practice.

Increasing access to substance abuse treatment services through the Affordable Care Act.

Expanding use of Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT).

Supporting the development and distribution of the life-saving drug naloxone to reduce prescription opioid painkiller and heroin overdose deaths.

Supporting the research, development, and approval of pain medications that are less prone to abuse.

Improving surveillance to better track trends, identify communities at risk, and target prevention strategies.

States can

Address the strongest risk factor for heroin addiction: addiction to prescription opioid painkillers.

Make prescription drug monitoring programs timely and easy to use. Providers can analyze patient prescription drug history and make informed decisions before prescribing opioid painkillers.

Look at the data and practices of state Medicaid and worker's compensation programs to identify and reduce inappropriate prescribing.

Increase access to substance abuse treatment services, including MAT for opioid addiction.

Work with Medicaid and other insurance companies to provide coverage for MAT.

Support adoption of MAT in community settings.

Expand access to and training for administering naloxone to reduce opioid overdose deaths.

Ensure that people have access to integrated prevention services, including access to sterile injection equipment from a reliable source, as allowed by local policy.

Help local jurisdictions to put these effective practices to work in communities where drug addiction is common.

Health care providers can

Follow best practices for responsible painkiller prescribing to reduce opioid painkiller addiction, the strongest risk factor for heroin addiction:

Use prescription drug monitoring programs and ask patients about past or current drug and alcohol use prior to considering opioid treatment.

Prescribe the lowest effective dose and only the quantity needed for each patient.

Link patients with substance use disorders to effective substance abuse treatment services.

Support the use of Food and Drug Administration approved MAT options (methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone) in patients addicted to prescription opioid painkillers or heroin.

Everyone can

Learn more about the risks of using heroin and other drugs.

Learn how to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose.

Get help for substance abuse problems: 1-800-662-HELP.

For more information on MAT and naloxone, visit SAMHSA at: www.samhsa.gov

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The Federal government is Providing educational training and resources to health care providers so they can make informed decisions and ensure the appropriate prescribing of opioid painkillers. This includes: Developing prescribing guidelines for chronic pain. Supporting the use of prescription drug monitoring programs (electronic databases that track the dispensing of certain drugs) as a routine part of clinical practice.

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Anti-drug propaganda proliferated. The slogan for the 1980s (issuing from the First Lady's office) became "Just say no," that is, say "no" to drug use. "Don't even try it," we were warned. "If you're going to die for something," a spokesperson for an anti-drug campaign said, "this [meaning drugs] sure ain't it."

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Opioid crisis weighs on New Hampshire’s chief medical examiner - The Boston Globe

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Opioid crisis weighs on New Hampshire’s chief medical examiner - The Boston Globe

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CONCORD, N.H. - On some days, Dr. Jennie Duval calls as many as six families after fatal overdoses - some of the families stunned and heartbroken, some of them resigned to a death they saw coming.

This, Duval said, is the most difficult part of her job as the only full-time medical examiner in New Hampshire, which leads the nation in per-capita deaths caused by fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.

"It's not like I can rush the call," said Duval, the state's chief medical examiner, as she described a heart-wrenching notification. "It takes a lot of time. But sometimes I feel like a broken record."

The crush of fatal overdoses has forced the office to abandon its practice of conducting an autopsy on each suspected overdose victim. Still, Duval has no alternative but to work a grueling schedule of 10- to 12-hour days that drains her physically and emotionally.

"If this epidemic is cresting, I'm not feeling it," Duval said in a conference room at Concord Hospital, the strain of another long day visible on her face. "There are many more autopsies that I'm not doing."

A Chelsea physician writes of the importance - and rewards - of treating opioid addiction in primary care.

Duval's only assistance comes from two contractors who each work five days a month. Among them, they conducted 548 autopsies last year - about one-third for overdoses in a state where 476 people are confirmed or suspected to have died from drugs in 2017. Duval conducted nearly 300 autopsies, far above the profession's suggested limit of 250.

The state Legislature has approved funding for two physicians to join the office. But in the ultra-competitive field of forensic pathology - a limited pool of doctors to fill many openings in the country, coupled with the challenge of recruiting in a rural state with long winters - Duval is crossing her fingers that help arrives soon.

"It takes a certain kind of person to do this job," she said. "It's not pleasant. You're dealing with death every day."

The state's former chief medical examiner, Dr. Thomas Andrew, said the opioid epidemic was part of the reason he retired last year to pursue a calling for the ministry.

The office's overall caseload has more than doubled since 1997, the year Andrew became chief medical examiner, and reached 1,820 in 2017. Twenty years ago, opioids were linked to less than 10 percent of deaths referred to the office, Andrew estimated.

"It was simply a slowly unfolding catastrophe that, even in seeing it coming, we didn't have the surge capacity to account for it," Andrew said. "The casework was getting done, don't get me wrong, but the numbers became so overwhelming."

The medical examiner's office investigates fewer than 20 percent of the approximately 12,000 people who die in New Hampshire each year. They include victims of suicide, accidents, and sudden, unexpected deaths of people under 60.

The number of cases that include an autopsy makes up about one-third of all referrals, although they are mandatory for some cases, such as homicides.

Choosing which overdose victims to autopsy "is a gamble," Duval said.

Some cases seem obvious - a syringe in the arm, opioids near the body, and a documented history of drug abuse, she said. But even cases that appear straightforward can involve factors that are discovered only through an autopsy, Duval said. Perhaps a pulmonary embolism will be found. Perhaps other damage might have caused or contributed to the death.

And as the opioid crisis continues, autopsies can yield valuable information about the effects of synthetic drugs such as fentanyl.

"It's the right thing to do," Duval said. "You want to have every piece of the puzzle."

New Hampshire is not alone in its staffing struggles.

Dr. Kim Collins, a South Carolina physician who is president of the National Association of Medical Examiners, said the profession is finding it hard to fill vacancies as fewer students choose the field and more forensic pathologists are retiring.

Each year, only about 30 to 40 young doctors in the United States become certified in forensic pathology, Collins said. Medical schools are devoting less attention to the subject - "some medical students will never even see an autopsy,'' Collins said - and the field pays far less than many other specialities.

Massachusetts, for example, is working to add three or four more doctors to a staff that already has hired two others since the beginning of the fiscal year, said Daniel Bennett, the state secretary of public safety, who oversees the medical examiner's office.

The state's nine full-time medical examiners average more than 300 autopsies a year, Bennett said. Massachusetts also has three part-time forensic pathologists, nine contracted examiners, and three young physicians who work for the office on a fellowship program.

Still, Massachusetts must improve to be fully accredited by the national association that Collins leads. Bennett said the opioid epidemic, mirroring its impact elsewhere, has created a backlog in completed autopsy reports that the office hopes to shrink to industry guidelines this year.

The national association requires that 90 percent of autopsy reports be completed in 90 days. In Massachusetts, 58.3 percent of autopsy reports met that standard between October 2015 and September 2017.

To help address the lag, Governor Charlie Baker wants to boost funding for the office by $1.7 million in fiscal 2019, to a total of $11.9 million.

In Maine, two full-time forensic pathologists handle nearly all the autopsies. Two others work on a per-diem basis and handle about 10 percent of the cases.

"We did have trouble with turnover in this office, and it was difficult. Once you get an employee trained, they leave, usually for more money," said Mark Belserene, administrator of the state's medical examiner's office.

"We were successful in reclassifying positions to better reflect the actual tasks and also to bring the salaries up to a more competitive level," Belserene said.

Despite the physical and mental stress, Duval plans to stay put as New Hampshire's chief medical examiner.

"I'm not going anywhere," she said with a small smile.

Although the caseload continues to climb, the addition of two doctors should make the work more manageable. Still, Duval said she does not expect the yearly number of autopsies to fall below 250 for any examiner.

The opioid crisis should ensure that.

Brian MacQuarrie can be reached at brian.macquarrie@globe.com.

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Opioid crisis weighs on New Hampshire's chief medical examiner - The Boston Globe

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CONCORD, N.H. - On some days, Dr. Jennie Duval calls as many as six families after fatal overdoses - some of the families stunned and heartbroken, some of them resigned to a death they saw coming.

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Dan Rodricks: Crack epidemic's legacy in Baltimore - tribunedigital-baltimoresun

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Dan Rodricks: Crack epidemic's legacy in Baltimore - tribunedigital-baltimoresun

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A fellow named Joseph contacted me the other day. He's one of Baltimore's many drug addicts, still alive at 33, clean for once, and looking for a job. "I started smoking crack at the age of 14, shooting heroin at the age of 16," he says. "I am on parole and probation, and I can't find a job anywhere ... It seems like every time I get an interview, everything is great until they do a background check. I'm going to [violate my parole] soon due to non-payment of the [parole] supervision fees."

Common story. Old story. The crack story.

Guys like Joseph - and I've met, spoken to or corresponded with hundreds of them by now - came of age during the crack epidemic (about 1984 to 1993 in most East Coast cities; it lasted a little longer in Baltimore). During that period, the smokable, fast-acting and highly addictive form of cocaine was cheap and plentiful. The children of the crack era grew up among adults who used the stuff, and some ended up addicted themselves.

The children of crack were usually born into poverty or near-poverty. You can add general family dysfunction to the life story. There was usually no adult male capable of positive influence in the home. These were childhoods marked by poor attendance in school, lots of mindless television watching, little adult supervision and some mischief that rose to juvenile misdemeanors and, in some cases, to the use of drugs and years of addiction.

Certainly, many other children of the crack generation managed to survive; they are in their 20s and 30s today, out in the workforce, trying to achieve what their parents or older siblings never came close to achieving because of crack. (There was an 8-year-old found to be working for drug dealers in West Baltimore in 1988. He was known as "Little Dirt." The state got him into foster care in Carroll County, and that made all the difference. Last I checked, he worked as a truck dispatcher and owned a home in northeast Baltimore.)

But there are guys like Joseph, too, who managed to get away from crack but spent years hustling daily for the heroin that their brain craves.

And then they woke up one day, perhaps at long last clean, and went out to find a job and realized they had compiled quite a resume of criminality. They are among the thousands of the permanently punished from the war on drugs. Someone in a human resources department clicks a mouse and taps a keyboard and, in a few seconds, there it is: a record of charges and pleas, convictions and sentences, all related in one way or another to opiates.

Common story. Old story. It was tough for men and women with criminal records to find jobs prior to the Great Recession. I assume, based on the mail and phone calls I receive almost every week from ex-offenders and their relatives, that it approached impossible during the economic downtown. It's hard to imagine it getting any better any time soon.

This is part of the legacy of the horrible crack epidemic - thousands of Baltimoreans arrested and incarcerated in the 1980s and 1990s (nearly 40,000 drug arrests in 1994 alone), many of them being released, coming home, then violating conditions of probation because they couldn't find work and returned to their old ways. Then, after a few more years in prison, they came out again and stepped into post-recession Baltimore, hoping to find work and a new life, but instead becoming frustrated at the lack of opportunities here. It's a prime reason our adult prisons remain full.

I gave Joseph a list of companies that in the past hired ex-offenders, then I wished him luck.

Looking ahead, there's some hope for a generational break in all this.

In Baltimore, where we had so much addiction and violence associated with the crack epidemic, crime has been in decline. So has crack use, according to records the governments keeps. It might have been passed from parents to children, from siblings to little brothers and sisters. But generally, by most indications, the crack-using population is aging out, and the next generation hasn't picked up the pipe. If that trend continues, maybe in another 10 years we'll see the end of crack's long legacy in Baltimore.
Dan Rodricks' column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. He is the host of "Midday" on WYPR-FM. His email is dan.rodricks@baltsun.com.

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Dan Rodricks: Crack epidemic's legacy in Baltimore

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A fellow named Joseph contacted me the other day. He's one of Baltimore's many drug addicts, still alive at 33, clean for once, and looking for a job. "I started smoking crack at the age of 14, shooting heroin at the age of 16," he says.

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What is Crack Cocaine? How to Smoke Crack? Street Names for Crack - Drug-Free World

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What is Crack Cocaine? How to Smoke Crack? Street Names for Crack - Drug-Free World

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Crack cocaine is the crystal form of cocaine, which normally comes in a powder form. It comes in solid blocks or crystals varying in color from yellow to pale rose or white.

Crack is heated and smoked. It is so named because it makes a cracking or popping sound when heated.

Crack, the most potent form in which cocaine appears, is also the riskiest. It is between 75% and 100% pure, far stronger and more potent than regular cocaine.

Smoking crack allows it to reach the brain more quickly and thus brings an intense and immediate-but very short-lived-high that lasts about fifteen minutes. And because addiction can develop even more rapidly if the substance is smoked rather than snorted (taken in through the nose), an abuser can become addicted after his or her first time trying crack.

Because of cocaine's high cost, it has long been considered a "rich man's drug." Crack, on the other hand, is sold at prices so low that even teens can afford to buy it-at first. The truth is that once a person is addicted, the expense skyrockets in direct ratio to the increasing amount needed to support the habit.

"I lived with a crack addict for nearly a year. I loved that addict, who was my boyfriend, with all my heart but I couldn't stick [with] it anymore. "The police stopped and searched me; we were raided at 6:00 A.M. My ex stole incessantly and couldn't tear himself away from his pipe. "I think crack is more evil than heroin-one pipe can be all it takes to turn you into an immoral monster." -Audrey

STREET NAMES

CRACK COCAINE 24-7 Apple jacks Badrock Ball Base Beat Candy Chemical Cloud Cookies Crack Crumbs Crunch & munch Devil drug Dice Electric kool-aid Fat bags French fries Glo Gravel Grit Hail Hard ball Hard rock Hotcakes Ice cube Jelly beans Kryptonite Nuggets Paste Piece Prime time Product Raw Rock(s) Rock star Rox/Roxanne Scrabble Sleet Snow coke Sugar block Topo (Spanish) Tornado Troop

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What is Crack Cocaine? How to Smoke Crack? Street Names for Crack - Drug-Free World

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Crack cocaine is the crystal form of cocaine, which normally comes in a powder form. It comes in solid blocks or crystals varying in color from yellow to pale rose or white. Crack is heated and smoked. It is so named because it makes a cracking or popping sound when heated.

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Opioid Overdose Crisis | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

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Opioid Overdose Crisis | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

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The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collects information on deaths involving drugs commonly associated with fatal overdose. NIDA analyzes NCHS data to create the figures and descriptions on this page. Final and provisional data are available to the public and can be accessed from an ad-hoc query system called CDC Wonder-Wide-ranging ONline Data for Epidemiologic Research. The NCHS also provides 12-month-ending Provisional Drug Overdose Death Counts by state and drug category.

Timely data related to unintentional and undetermined intent drug overdose deaths by participating jurisdiction is also available from the State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS). Similar data related to nonfatal drug overdoses are reported through CDC's Drug Overdose Surveillance and Epidemiology (DOSE) system.

See the latest from NIDA on drug overdose research.

See Frequently Asked Questions about drug overdose statistics.

Figure 1. National Drug-Involved Overdose Deaths-Number Among All Ages, by Gender, 1999-2021. More than 106,000 persons in the U.S. died from drug-involved overdose in 2021, including illicit drugs and prescription opioids. The figure above is a bar and line graph showing the total number of U.S. drug overdose deaths involving select illicit or prescription drugs from 1999 to 2021. The bars are overlaid by lines showing the number of deaths by gender from 1999 to 2021 (Source: CDC WONDER).

Figure 2. National Drug-Involved Overdose Deaths by Specific Category-Number Among All Ages, 1999-2021. Overall, drug overdose deaths rose from 2019 to 2021 with more than 106,000 drug overdose deaths reported in 2021. Deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily fentanyl) continued to rise with 70,601 overdose deaths reported in 2021. Those involving stimulants, including cocaine or psychostimulants with abuse potential (primarily methamphetamine), also continued to increase with 32,537 overdose deaths in 2021 (Source: CDC WONDER).

Figure 3. National Overdose Deaths Involving Any Opioid-Number Among All Ages, by Gender, 1999-2021. The figure above is a bar and line graph showing the total number of U.S. overdose deaths involving any opioid from 1999 to 2021. Any opioid includes prescription opioids (natural and semi-synthetic opioids and methadone), heroin, and synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily fentanyl). Opioid-involved overdose deaths rose from 21,089 in 2010 to 47,600 in 2017 and remained steady through 2019. This was followed by a significant increase in 2020 with 68,630 reported deaths and again in 2021 with 80,411 reported overdose deaths. The bars are overlaid by lines showing the number of deaths by gender from 1999 to 2021 (Source: CDC WONDER).

Figure 4. National Overdose Deaths Involving Prescription Opioids-Number Among All Ages, 1999-2021. The figure above is a bar and line graph showing the total number of U.S. overdose deaths involving commonly prescribed opioids (including natural and semi-synthetic opioids and methadone) from 1999 to 2021. Drug overdose deaths involving prescription opioids rose from 3,442 in 1999 to 17,029 in 2017. From 2017 to 2019, the number of deaths declined to 14,139. This was followed by a slight increase in 2020, with 16,416 reported deaths. In 2021, the number of reported deaths involving prescription opioids totaled 16,706. The bars are overlaid by a line showing the number of deaths involving prescription opioids in combination with synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily fentanyl). A second line shows prescription opioids without any other opioid from 1999 to 2021 and demonstrates that commonly prescribed opioids are no longer driving the overdose crisis (Source: CDC WONDER).

Figure 5. National Overdose Deaths Involving Heroin, by Other Opioid Involvement-Number Among All Ages, 1999-2021. The figure above is a bar and line graph showing the total number of U.S. overdose deaths involving heroin from 1999 to 2021. Drug overdose deaths involving heroin rose from 1,960 in 1999 to 15,482 in 2017 before trending down to 13,165 deaths in 2020 and 9,173 deaths in 2021. The bars are overlaid by lines showing the number of deaths involving heroin in combination with synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily fentanyl) or without any other opioid from 1999 to 2021 (Source: CDC WONDER).

Figure 6. National Overdose Deaths Involving Stimulants (cocaine and psychostimulants), by Opioid Involvement-Number Among All Ages, 1999-2021. The figure above is a bar and line graph showing the total number of U.S. overdose deaths involving stimulants from 1999 to 2021. Drug overdose deaths rose from 12,122 in 2015 to 53,495 in 2021. The bars are overlaid by lines showing the number of deaths involving stimulants in combination with synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily fentanyl) or without any opioid. The number of deaths involving stimulants has increased steadily since 2014 regardless of opioid involvement (Source: CDC WONDER).

Figure 7. National Overdose Deaths Involving Psychostimulants With Abuse Potential (Primarily Methamphetamine), by Opioid Involvement-Number Among All Ages, 1999-2021. The figure above is a bar and line graph showing the total number of U.S. overdose deaths involving psychostimulants with abuse potential from 1999 to 2021. Drug overdose deaths involving psychostimulants with abuse potential rose from 547 in 1999 to 23,837 in 2020 and continued to increase to 32,537 deaths in 2021. The bars are overlaid by lines showing the number of deaths involving psychostimulants in combination with synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily fentanyl) or without any opioid. The number of deaths involving psychostimulants has increased steadily since 2014 regardless of opioid involvement (Source: CDC WONDER).

Figure 8. National Drug Overdose Deaths Involving Cocaine, by Opioid Involvement-Number Among All Ages, 1999-2021. The figure above is a bar and line graph showing the total number of U.S. overdose deaths involving cocaine from 1999 to 2021. Drug overdose deaths involving cocaine rose steadily from 6,784 in 2015 to 15,883 in 2019. From 2019 to 2021, cocaine-involved deaths rose nearly 54% to 24,486 deaths. The bars are overlaid by lines showing the number of deaths involving cocaine in combination with synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily fentanyl) or without any opioid. The number of deaths in combination with synthetic opioids other than methadone has increased significantly since 2015 and is the main driver of cocaine-involved overdose deaths (Source: CDC WONDER).

Figure 9. National Drug Overdose Deaths Involving Benzodiazepines, by Opioid Involvement-Number Among All Ages, 1999-2021. The figure above is a bar and line graph showing the total number of U.S. overdose deaths involving benzodiazepines from 1999 to 2021. Drug overdose deaths involving benzodiazepines steadily increased from 1,135 in 1999 to 11,537 in 2017 and declined to 9,711 in 2019. Between 2019 and 2021, deaths rose again to 12,499. The bars are overlaid by lines showing the number of deaths involving benzodiazepines in combination with synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily fentanyl) or without any opioid (Source: CDC WONDER).

Figure 10. National Drug Overdose Deaths Involving Antidepressants, by Opioid Involvement-Number Among All Ages, 1999-2021. The figure above is a bar and line graph showing the total number of U.S. overdose deaths involving antidepressants from 1999 to 2021. Drug overdose deaths involving antidepressants rose steadily from 1,749 in 1999 to 5,269 in 2017. Since then, deaths have slightly risen with 5,859 in 2021. The bars are overlaid by lines showing the number of deaths involving antidepressants in combination with synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily fentanyl) or without any opioid involvement (Source: CDC WONDER).

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Description of Figures

The figures above are bar charts showing the number of U.S. overdose deaths involving select illicit or prescription drugs from 1999 through 2021. The bars are overlaid by lines representing gender or concurrent opioid involvement. Please note the y-axis scale varies by bar chart and caution should be applied when comparing graphs side-by-side.

There were 106,699 drug-involved overdose deaths reported in the U.S. in 2021 (Figure 1); 69% of cases occurred among males (yellow line). Synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily fentanyl) were the main driver of drug overdose deaths with a nearly 7.5-fold increase from 2015 to 2021 (Figure 2).

Drug overdose deaths involving any opioid―prescription opioids (including natural and semi-synthetic opioids and methadone), other synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily fentanyl), and heroin―continued to rise through 2021 with 80,411 deaths. More than 70% of deaths occurred among males (Figure 3). From 2020 to 2021, the number of deaths involving prescription opioids remained steady (Figure 4).

Overdose deaths involving heroin have trended down since 2016 with 9,173 deaths reported in 2021 (Figure 5). Nearly 75% of overdose deaths in 2021 involving heroin also involved synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily fentanyl).

Drug overdose deaths involving stimulants, cocaine, or psychostimulants with abuse potential (primarily methamphetamine) have significantly increased since 2015 from 12,122 to 53,495 in 2021 (Figure 6).

Since 2015, the number of deaths involving psychostimulants with abuse potential (primarily methamphetamine) has risen significantly each year-with 32,537 deaths in 2021 (Figure 7). The number of deaths involving cocaine has also increased steadily since 2015 with 24,486 deaths reported in 2021 (Figure 8).

The final two charts show the number of overdose deaths involving benzodiazepines (Figure 8) or antidepressants (Figure 9). Benzodiazepines were involved in 12,499 deaths in 2021-steadily increasing since 2015. The proportion of deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily fentanyl) has increased significantly since 2015. Of the 8,791 deaths involving benzodiazepines in 2015, 20% also involved fentanyl. In 2021, this proportion increased to 70% of all deaths involving benzodiazepines. Antidepressant-involved deaths have also risen steadily, driven by fentanyl, with 5,859 deaths reported in 2021.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does NIDA collect and release the data displayed on this webpage?

No. The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collects and reports these data, which are available to the public and can be accessed from an ad-hoc query system called CDC Wonder-Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research. NIDA does not fund or assist in the collection of these data but does analyze NCHS data to create the figures and descriptions on this page.

Why are the statistics displayed not more recent? Where can I find timelier estimates of overdose death rates?

This webpage is regularly updated to display the most recent final drug overdose death data published annually by NCHS. NCHS systems receive and analyze data from death certificates, including cause-of-death information reported by state and local medical examiners and coroners. Because drug overdose deaths often require lengthy investigations, data are updated as new information is received.

For more recent provisional data, please see Provisional Drug Overdose Death Counts from NCHS. Timely data related to unintentional and undetermined intent drug overdose deaths by participating jurisdiction is also available from the Similar data related to nonfatal drug overdoses are reported through CDC's Drug Overdose Surveillance and Epidemiology (DOSE) system.

Where can I find more information about the data displayed on this webpage?
For more information or to contact CDC, please visit the CDC's Drug Overdose Deaths webpage.

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Drug Overdose Death Rates | National Institute on Drug Abuse

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collects information on deaths involving many commonly used drugs The CDC's reporting on deaths by overdose.