Drug overdose deaths have grown exponentially over the past 38 years, and are not happening only because of the growing abuse of fentanyl, heroin, and prescription opioid drugs, according to an analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
The opioid overdose rates have all risen, reports the paper, published in the journal Science, but overdose rates from cocaine and methamphetamine have also skyrocketed.
Between 1979 and 2016, the rate of drug overdose doubled about every nine years, from 1 death per 100,000 people to more than 17 deaths per 100,000 people. On average, 174 people die daily from an overdose, the study noted.
The study also revealed that white Americans overdosed more frequently than black Americans and that while some drug deaths were concentrated in certain areas, there were few areas that were spared from the overdose crisis.
Drug use also was concentrated more among older Americans, and among more men than women, the analysis revealed.
"There has been substantial variability with which specific drugs have become dominant in varying populations and geographic locales," the analysis said. "This variability all but negates the possibility of confident predictions about the future role of specific drugs."
Further, the analysis said a future overdose epidemic may come from a new or obscure drug rather than through opiates or other leading causes of drug overdose deaths.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.