{"id":104047,"date":"2021-07-14T16:01:36","date_gmt":"2021-07-14T20:01:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=104047"},"modified":"2021-07-14T17:15:13","modified_gmt":"2021-07-14T21:15:13","slug":"wash-post-drug-overdose-deaths-soared-to-a-record-93000-last-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=104047","title":{"rendered":"(Wash Post) Drug overdose deaths soared to a record 93,000 last year"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Deaths from drug overdoses soared to more than 93,000 last year, a staggering record that reflects the coronavirus<\/a> pandemic\u2019s toll on efforts to quell the crisis and the continued spread of the synthetic opioid fentanyl in the illegal narcotic supply, the government reported Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The death toll jumped by more than 21,000, or nearly 30 percent, from 2019, according to provisional data released by the National Center for Health Statistics, eclipsing the record set that year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

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The increase came as no surprise to addiction specialists, drug counselors and policy experts who have watched the steady rise in deaths throughout the pandemic. But that did not make the statistics any less horrifying.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cEvery one of those people, somebody loved them,\u201d said Keith Humphreys, a psychiatry professor at Stanford University and an expert on addiction and drug policy. \u201cIt\u2019s terrifying. It\u2019s the biggest increase in overdose deaths in the history of the United States, it\u2019s the worst overdose crisis in the history of the United States, and we\u2019re not making progress. It\u2019s really overwhelming.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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U.S. drug overdose deaths surged nearly 30 percent in 2020, reflecting toll of pandemic https:\/\/t.co\/VUc3GdPmAN<\/a><\/p>\n

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 14, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n