CNN Report: Rising Deaths from Drug Overdose Involving Cocaine and Psychostimulants Linked to Opioids
A new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals a concerning trend of rising drug overdose deaths involving cocaine and psychostimulants such as methamphetamine in the United States. What’s even more alarming is that opioids are also involved in the majority of these deaths.
According to CDC data from 2021, opioids were present in about 79% of overdose deaths involving cocaine and approximately 66% of those involving psychostimulants. The report also highlights the increasing prevalence of multi-drug combinations in these overdose deaths.
Over the past decade, overdose deaths involving both cocaine and opioids have become over seven times more frequent, increasing from less than 1 death per 100,000 individuals in 2011 to nearly 6 in 2021. Similarly, deaths involving both psychostimulants and opioids increased by 22 times, rising from 0.3 deaths per 100,000 individuals in 2011 to nearly 7 in 2021.
While deaths from cocaine or psychostimulants without opioids also increased, the rate of growth was significantly slower.
Experts emphasize that the epidemic is not solely an opioid crisis but rather a polysubstance overdose crisis. Multiple factors contribute to the rising overdose death rates, including the dangers of illicit fentanyl, a highly potent synthetic opioid.
Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, warns that combining cocaine with fentanyl is much more toxic and lethal. Additionally, the combination of methamphetamine and fentanyl poses even greater dangers. Volkow explains that the rise in mortality from these drugs is linked to the increasing presence of fentanyl in the illicit drug market.
Addressing this deadly overdose epidemic will require a range of strategic approaches beyond focusing solely on opioids. Dr. Sarah Wakeman, an addiction medicine physician, emphasizes the need for proven interventions to save lives.
The use of opioids in conjunction with stimulants has long been prevalent among drug users, with cocaine and more recently with psychostimulants like methamphetamine. Research indicates that individuals using both stimulants and opioids face a higher risk of health-related complications, and treatment options addressing both substances are limited.
However, fentanyl contamination in the illicit drug market has heightened the risk of unintentional exposure. Dealers are diluting more expensive drugs and adding cheaper, yet potent, fentanyl, resulting in a deadly mixture.
The CDC report highlights the prevalence of the cocaine and opioids combination due to the higher cost involved in manufacturing and transporting cocaine. Furthermore, the influx of cocaine into the US has significantly increased, contributing to the practice of mixing these drugs with fentanyl in the illicit market.
According to another CDC dataset tracking overdose deaths through February, approximately 110,000 people in the US died from a drug overdose in the past year. Of those deaths, about a quarter involved cocaine, a third involved psychostimulants, and over two-thirds involved opioids.
These concerning findings illustrate the urgent need for comprehensive and multidimensional strategies to combat the evolving drug overdose crisis in the United States.