Fueled by fentanyl, drug overdose deaths have quadrupled in past 2 decades

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Each year, drug overdoses tragically take the lives of thousands of Americans. And since 2002, the rate of deaths from a drug overdose has quadrupled, largely fueled by the highly lethal fentanyl, new data shows.

Fentanyl has increasingly contaminated the illegal supply of cocaine in the United States because the drugs are made and stored together, experts say.

In 2022 alone, nearly 108,000 Americans died from a drug overdose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That same year, the third leading cause of death in the U.S. was "unintentional injuries," which includes drug overdoses. Heart disease and cancer have consistently been the leading cause of death in the U.S. since the early-to-mid 1990s.

How many people are dying from drug use?

In 2022, 107,941 people died of drug overdoses, or 32.6 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the CDC. The total number of deaths is a slight increase from 2021 (106,699 deaths).

The rate of drug overdose deaths for men increased slightly between 2021 and 2022, 45.1 to 45.6 per 100,000. That same rate for women dropped 1.0% from 19.6 to 19.4 deaths per 100,000.

A study from 2023 found that men are dying at higher rates not just from opioids but from methamphetamine and cocaine. As previously reported by USA TODAY, researchers said they found a "regular" and "big" pattern across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., showing men were at least two times more likely to die from using drugs compared with women.

Alex Kral, an epidemiologist with North Carolina's Research Triangle Institute who focuses on drug use, previously told USA TODAY that in general, men are more likely than women to use drugs in the first place, so they are more likely to die from overdoses.

The opioid epidemic's deadly toll

The rate of drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone, which includes fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, and tramadol, spiked from 2013 onward. The rate increased from one death per 100,000 population to 22.7 deaths per 100,000 in 2022.

Millions of Americans know someone who died from a drug overdose

A survey published earlier this year by the nonprofit think tank Rand Corporation found that more than 40% of American adults know someone who died from an overdose and close to a third say that death disrupted their lives.

The study used census figures to extrapolate, and determined overdose deaths would have a ripple effect on about 125 million adults in the U.S. who experienced loss from overdose death in their orbit, USA TODAY previously reported.

For resources or support with substance use disorder, you can visit the SAMHSA.gov website or call 1-800-662-HELP (4357). Partnership to End Addiction's SAFE Locator can help identify various treatment options across ages.

Contributing: Eduardo Cuevas, Claire Thornton