Drug Overdose Deaths

Health
Written By Alysha Rashid

Drug overdose deaths increased 50% in two years, reaching a high of 106,699 deaths in 2021. Overdose death rates are highest among American Indian, Black, and white Americans.

Drug overdose deaths, U.S.

1999-2022

Source: CDC/Wonder. Notes: 2022 data is provisional. AN=Alaska Native. Drug overdose deaths are identified using ICD–10 underlying cause-of-death codes: X40–X44, X60–X64, X85, and Y10–Y14.

The number of drug overdose deaths in America rose dramatically from about 17,000 in 1999 to 70,000 in 2019 (pre-Covid) and then skyrocketed by 50% in just 2 years – reaching nearly 107,000 deaths in 2021. The 98,000 overdose deaths in 2022 were still 40% above pre-pandemic.

Drug overdose deaths were a major reason why the U.S. had an excess death problem even before Covid hit.1 In 2015, when roughly 53,000 Americans died of drug overdoses, the drug overdose rate in the U.S. was about 3 times higher than other wealthy countries.2 High levels of suffering, pain, and distress have contributed to ballooning overdose rates, particularly in regions of the country with poor education and work opportunities, unaffordable housing, and weak social bonds and community cohesion.3 The mental health shocks associated with the pandemic, along with the increasing impact of fentanyl, caused rates of drug overdose deaths to spike, along with deaths from alcohol, firearms, road rage and motor vehicle accidents (Motor vehicle deaths, Gun deaths among children).4,5,6,7 Drug overdose death rates have been highest among American Indians and white Americans but, since 2020, the rate of drug overdose deaths among Black Americans has surpassed the rate of white Americans.

The opioid epidemic has contributed to reduced labor force participation, particularly among men.8,9 In addition, researchers have found a link between despair and vulnerability to misinformation.10 Pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors have agreed to pay at least $26 billion to states and localities as part of the National Opioid Settlement.1 As with American Rescue Plan funds, communities can ensure that opioid settlement funds are dedicated to community priorities by connecting and engaging with their local and state leaders, insisting on transparency, and using data and storytelling to amplify community needs.12

  1. “The Covid-19 pandemic and the expansion of the mortality gap between the United States and its European peers”. Heuveline. PLOS. March, 2023. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0283153 

  2. “The Contemporary American Drug Overdose Epidemic in International Perspective”. Ho. National Library of Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6527318/ 

  3. “We need to talk about well-being: Why the study of well-being is crucial for race relations and advancing prosperity”. Perry, Rothwell. Brookings. April, 2023. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/we-need-to-talk-about-well-being-why-the-study-of-well-being-is-crucial-for-race-relations-and-advancing-prosperity/

  4. “Effect of increased alcohol consumption during COVID-19 pandemic on alcohol-associated liver disease: A modeling study”. Julien, Ayer, Tapper, Barbosa, Dowd, and Chhatwal. American Association For The Study of Liver Diseases. December, 2021. https://aasldpubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/hep.32272

  5. “Gun Violence Archive”. July, 2023. https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/

  6. “2020 Fatality Data Show Increased Traffic Fatalities During Pandemic”. U.S. Department of Transportation. June, 2021. https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/2020-fatality-data-show-increased-traffic-fatalities-during-pandemic

  7. “Road Rage Shootings Are Continuing to Surge”. Burd-Sharps, Tetens, and Szkola. Everytown. https://everytownresearch.org/reports-of-road-rage-shootings-are-on-the-rise/

  8. “Labor Market Effects of the Oxycodone-Heroin Epidemic”. Cho, Garcia, montes, and Weingarden. Federal Reserve Board. April, 2021. https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/feds/files/2021025pap.pdf

  9. “Where have all the workers gone? An inquiry into the decline of the U.S. labor force participation rate”. Krueger. Brookings. September, 2017. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/where-have-all-the-workers-gone-an-inquiry-into-the-decline-of-the-u-s-labor-force-participation-rate/

  10. “Despair underlies our misinformation crisis: Introducing an interactive tool”. Graham, Dobson. Brookings. July, 2023. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/despair-underlies-our-misinformation-crisis-introducing-an-interactive-tool/

  11. “State Approaches for Distribution of National Opioid Settlement Funding”. NASHP. https://nashp.org/state-approaches-for-distribution-of-national-opioid-settlement-funding/#:~:text=States%20are%20in%20the%20process,of%20the%20National%20Opioid%20Settlement.

  12. “The ARP Activist Playbook”. The Southern Economic Advancement Project. March, 2023. https://theseap.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/ARP_Activist_Playbook.pdf

Alysha Rashid
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