The number of deaths from drug overdose has increased during the pandemic, with cases in Arizona increasing by between 30% and 40%, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
Nationally, deaths rose 30% in 2020 to a record 93,000. Only South Dakota and New Hampshire bucked the trend, with increases being particularly high in the west.
Deaths from stimulants such as methamphetamine and opiates set records. The synthetic opioid fentanyl led the way.
The report broke no county-level deaths. However, in 2019, Navajo, Apache, and Gila counties were all opiate overdose rates above the state average – which, in turn, was above the national average.
In 2020, COVID-19 still caused four times as many deaths nationwide as all drug overdose deaths combined. However, the overdoses dwarfed other major causes of death such as car accidents and gun deaths.
The drug deaths cost Americans an estimated 3.5 million years of life, while COVID-19 cost 5.5 million years of life, according to CDC estimates that take into account the ages of the deceased.
American life expectancy actually fell by a terrifying 1.5 years in the past year, due to both COVID-19 and the surge in overdose deaths.
The number of deaths from drug overdose has risen over the past decade, driven by a sharp increase in prescription pain medication use – with an epidemic of both heroin use and deaths from the much more dangerous synthetic opiate fentanyl. According to the state health department, doctors in Arizona issue approximately 137,000 prescriptions for opiate pain relievers each month.
The record-breaking increase in deaths in 2020 came despite national efforts to tackle the plague of overdose deaths by tracking prescriptions, expanding treatment programs, distributing naloxone treatments to doctors, police and paramedics, and cracking down on doctors who prescribe too much. Experts say that prescription drug abuse has now turned into a thriving black market for opiates.
Fentanyl has been shown to be a potent killer – 39% of overdoses were fatal. However, meth overdoses also set a record nationwide, with 41% of reported overdoses being fatal. Cocaine overdoses are also fatal 39% of the time, but use has not increased as much as meth and fentanyl.
In contrast, heroin overdoses are fatal 15% of the time and prescription opiates only 8% of the time.
However, many of the overdoses are caused by mixing multiple drugs. Fentanyl often occurs in combination with other drugs and plays a role in 60% of drug deaths.
The 20,000 additional deaths in the US from overdose represented the largest increase in a year in 20 years. The rate of deaths from drug overdose has increased from 1.9% to 2.8 since 2015, according to CDC data in a Commonwealth Fund report % of all deaths increased.
The number of deaths from overdose spiked at the start of the pandemic, with the stress, fear and lockdowns associated with it. Overdoses decreased by the middle of the year – but remain significantly higher than in 2020.
The increase hit most of the country, with the total number of overdose deaths in Arizona rising between 30 and 40%. In California, deaths increased by 40 to 50 percent and in Nevada by 10 to 30 percent.
Peter Aleshire covers county government and other issues for the Independent. He is the former editor of the Payson Roundup. Reach out to him at [email protected]
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