America’s Drug Overdose Death Rate Keeps Getting Worse: CDC

Sarah Ruiz-Grossman

More Americans are dying from drug overdoses than ever, a dire consequence of the country’s opioid crisis.

Deaths from drug overdoses rose dramatically in the last quarter of last year compared with a comparable period in 2015, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The overdose death rate for 2016′s last three months was 20.6 per 100,000 people; in 2015, the fourth quarter death rate was 16.0 per 100,000. That’s a rise of about 20 percent. The figures are based on final data for 2015 and provisional data for 2016.

The figure for 2016′s fourth quarter topped what had been a record 19.9 overdose deaths per 100,000 people that the CDC had reported for the year’s third quarter.

The number of Americans dying from drug overdoses is directly linked to the country’s opioid crisis: More than three out of five of the deaths involve an opioid, according to the CDC. Overdose deaths from opioids, whether through prescription or illicit use of the drugs, have more than quadrupled since 1999.

In raw numbers, more than 64,000 Americans died from drug overdoses last year, the CDC previously reported ― a greater number than from HIV or gun homicides in the worst years of those epidemics.

The U.S. death rate for drug overdoses was&nbsp;20.6&nbsp;in 2016's fourth quarter, up from the rate of&nbsp;16.0&nbsp;in 2015's last three months, according to the Centers for Disease Control. (Photo: <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/mortality-dashboard.htm#" target="_blank">CDC</a>)

President Donald Trump last month declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency. But critics say Trump fell short by not declaring it a national emergency, which would have freed up billions of dollars in federal disaster relief funds. The public health emergency fund only has about $57,000 in it, according to officials.

The president’s declaration could help secure federal grant money, which could be used to expand access to telemedicine services for addiction treatment and medication-based addiction treatments like buprenorphine. However, Trump’s repeated efforts to cut Medicaid benefits ― used by low-income people to get addiction treatment under the Affordable Care Act ― may hinder access to such services for vulnerable populations.

Part of what’s behind the high rate of drug overdose deaths is the increased use of synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, CDC experts told the New York Times. Deaths from fentanyl ― a drug 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine ― have more than doubled from 2015 to 2016.

Paramedics and firefighters treat a 32-year-old man who was found unresponsive on a sidewalk after overdosing on opioids in Everett, Massachusetts, on Aug. 23, 2017. (Photo: Brian Snyder / Reuters)
Paramedics and firefighters treat a 32-year-old man who was found unresponsive on a sidewalk after overdosing on opioids in Everett, Massachusetts, on Aug. 23, 2017. (Photo: Brian Snyder / Reuters)

To fight the opioid epidemic, experts recommend setting up safe injection sites, which would allow drug users to consume drugs in a medically supervised environment. While such centers exist in dozens of cities across Europe and Canada, Seattle became the first city in the U.S. to approve such sites earlier this year.

Other steps experts have proposed include equipping local emergency responders with Narcan, a drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

“Death rates from opioid overdose will continue to rise until we implement a comprehensive strategy to reduce harms and expand treatment for opioid use disorder using effective medications,” Dr. Peter Friedmann, associate dean for research at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, told HuffPost in August.

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#5 Stimulants

While stimulants such as <a href="http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/commonly-abused-drugs/commonly-abused-prescription-drugs-chart" target="_hplink">Ritalin and Adderall</a> are highly addictive, abuse among older people is not as widespread as it with young adults. However, illicit stimulants like cocaine are more common. In 2008, <a href="http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k10/DAWN015/IllicitAbuse.htm" target="_hplink">63 percent of 118,495 emergency room visits</a> made by those 50 and older involved cocaine. The number of older cocaine users likely increased in the past few years since more than 550,000 adults aged 50 and older <a href="http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k11/013/WEB_SR_013.htm" target="_hplink">reported cocaine use</a>, according to a 2011 report. (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexdoddphotography/3196151008/" target="_hplink">Image via Flickr</a>, Alex Dodd)

#4 Antidepressants

While the names are varied -- <a href="http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/mental-health-medications/what-medications-are-used-to-treat-depression.shtml" target="_hplink">Prozac, Zoloft and Lexapro</a>, among others -- the effects are similar. Used primarily to treat depression and mood disorders, antidepressants have a slight potential for abuse and addiction. According to a 2010 report from The Drug Abuse Warning Network, antidepressants contributed to <a href="http://www.samhsa.gov/data/2k10/WebSR018Pharma50+/Pharma50+HTML.pdf" target="_hplink">8.6 percent of emergency room visits</a> by adults 50 and older.

#3 Sedatives

Most often used to treat anxiety and insomnia, <a href="http://www.news-medical.net/health/List-of-Sedatives.aspx" target="_hplink">sedatives like Valium and Xanax</a> may become addictive <a href="http://nihseniorhealth.gov/drugabuse/improperuse/01.html" target="_hplink">if taken incorrectly, or used too often</a>. The Drug Abuse Warning Network identified sedatives, or depressants, as the pharmaceutical involved in <a href="http://www.samhsa.gov/data/2k10/WebSR018Pharma50+/Pharma50+HTML.pdf" target="_hplink">31.8 percent of emergency room visits by older adults</a>. (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/deanslife/1359287762/" target="_hplink">Image via Flickr</a>, Dean812)

#2 Pain Relievers

Painkillers like Oxycodone, Vicodin and Morphine have a high potential for abuse. According to a Drug Abuse Warning Network report, <a href="http://www.samhsa.gov/data/2k10/WebSR018Pharma50+/Pharma50+HTML.pdf" target="_hplink">pain relievers were the type of pharmaceutical</a> most often involved in emergency room visits for post-50s, encompassing 43.5 percent of senior ER visits. The vast majority of painkiller-related ER visits -- 33.9 percent -- involved high-level narcotics, rather than over-the-counter pain relievers.

#1 Medical Marijuana

While many people have medical prescriptions for marijuana use, <a href="http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k11/013/WEB_SR_013.htm" target="_hplink">3 million adults aged 50 and older</a> have illegally used the drug within the past year, according to a 2011 report from The National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a branch of the U.S. Government's Department of Health and Human Services. Out of 4.8 million older adults who used illicit drugs, marijuana use was more common than non-medical use of prescription medicines among the 50 to 59 age range (though the opposite was true for those 60 and older). Marijuana is also far more popular among men than women aged 50 and older.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.