Drug overdoses in the United States were deadlier than ever in 2021

Drug overdoses in the United States were deadlier than ever in 2021

 

Drug overdoses in the United States were deadlier than ever in 2021, according to provisional data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.   Nearly 108,000 people died of drug overdoses in 2021, and about two-thirds of those deaths involved fentanyl or another synthetic opioid.   Overdose deaths have been on the rise for years but have surged amid the Covid-19 pandemic: Annual deaths were nearly 50% higher in 2021 than in 2019, CDC data shows.   One of the key ways to help bring those numbers down is to make sure people can access treatment. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration launched FindTreatment.gov in 2019 to help hundreds of thousands of Americans affected by addiction answer a crucial question: Where can I get treatment?   The site is supposed to list more than 13,000 state-licensed treatment facilities, including information on what types of services are offered, which insurance plans are accepted and what ages are served.   But a number of experts have pointed out that the site has inaccurate and outdated information, a lack of filtering options and little guidance on how to identify high-quality treatment.   "People who are seeking help deserve to find immediate help," said Hendrée Jones, executive director of the University of North Carolina's Horizons substance use treatment program for women and their children. "Having a national treatment locator that is up to date and easily searchable is a first step in that recovery journey."