Drug Deaths in United States

United States

Deaths resulting from drug overdose burden individuals, families, their communities, the health care system and the economy. Drug overdoses are a leading cause of injury death and have increased dramatically in recent years. 

More than 1 million Americans have died from drug overdose since 1999. There were more than 106,699 confirmed drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2021 alone, more than 80,000 of which involved an opioid. 

Studies have found that increases in overdose deaths are associated with increases in child maltreatment reports and foster care placements. In 2017, fatal opioid overdoses and opioid use disorder cost the United States $1.02 trillion.

Those who take a high daily dosage of prescription pain relievers (e.g., methadone, oxycodone or hydrocodone) are vulnerable to abuse of prescription opioids and overdose.

According to America’s Health Rankings data, populations with higher drug overdose death rates include:

• Men, who have a drug overdose death rate twice that of women.
• Adults ages 35-44, who have the highest rate of drug overdose deaths compared with all other age groups. 
• American Indian/Alaska Native, white and Black adults compared with Asian adults.
• Urban residents compared with rural residents. The disparity is especially large among males in urban counties, who have an overdose rate 18% higher than males in rural counties.

Additional studies have found that drug deaths are highest among individuals working in construction and extraction occupations.

Opioid overdoses may be reversed with naloxone, an opioid antagonist. Strategies to prevent overdose deaths and reduce harm among those with opioid addiction include:

• Increasing distribution of naloxone.
• Implementing prescription drug monitoring programs at the state level to reduce opioid prescribing.
• Improving access to drug treatment programs, including medication-assisted treatment.
• Working to reduce the illicit opioid supply through collaborative interventions between public health organizations and other government agencies. 
• Encouraging collaboration and data sharing between states on effective policies and practices for addressing substance use disorder and the opioid crisis.

For health care providers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has developed the Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain and a prescription checklist to encourage safe prescribing practices. 

Individuals can work with their doctors to safely and effectively manage their pain and avoid the risk of opioid abuse. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration offers resources and advice about what to do if someone you know has a problem with drugs.

Reducing drug overdose deaths is a Healthy People 2030 leading health indicator.

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Crowley, Daniel Max, Christian M. Connell, Damon Jones, and Michael W. Donovan. “Considering the Child Welfare System Burden from Opioid Misuse: Research Priorities for Estimating Public Costs.” The American Journal of Managed Care 25, no. 13 Suppl (2019): S256–63. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7895335/.

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Spencer, Merianne Rose, Matthew Garnett, and Arialdi M. Miniño. “Urban–Rural Differences in Drug Overdose Death Rates, 2020.” Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, July 21, 2022. https://doi.org/10.15620/cdc:118601.

Zibbell, Jon E., Arnie Aldridge, Megan Grabenauer, David Heller, Sarah Duhart Clarke, DeMia Pressley, and Hope Smiley McDonald. “Associations between Opioid Overdose Deaths and Drugs Confiscated by Law Enforcement and Submitted to Crime Laboratories for Analysis, United States, 2014–2019: An Observational Study.” The Lancet Regional Health - Americas 25 (September 2023): 100569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2023.100569.