CNN Reports: New data show US drug epidemic is deadlier than ever, but preventing overdoses is an uphill battle

CNN Reports Preventing overdoses is an uphill battle

(CNN) Drug overdose deaths have doubled over the past six years, soaring in recent months amid the Covid-19 pandemic and continued rise of fentanyl.

The country first surpassed 100,000 annual deaths in April, and overdose deaths have persisted at staggeringly high levels since.
The latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, published Wednesday, shows that drug overdose deaths have reached another record high.

An estimated 104,288 people died of drug overdoses in the 12-month period ending September 2021. In September 2015, the annual death toll was about 52,000.