Drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, and most drug overdoses involve opioids.
Opioids are a class of drugs that include the illegal drug heroin, synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, and pain relievers available legally by prescription, such as oxycodone (OxyContin), hydrocodone (Vicodin), codeine, morphine, and many others.
The number of drug overdose deaths increased by nearly 5% from 2018 to 2019 and has quadrupled since 1999. Over 70% of the 70,630 deaths in 2019 involved an opioid. From 2018 to 2019, there were significant changes in opioid-involved death rates:
- Opioid-involved death rates increased by over 6%.
- Prescription opioid-involved death rates decreased by nearly 7%.
- Heroin-involved death rates decreased by over 6%.
- Synthetic opioid-involved death rates (excluding methadone) increased by over 15%.
From 1999–2019, nearly 500,000 people died from an overdose involving any opioid, including prescription and illicit opioids.
This rise in opioid overdose deaths can be outlined in three distinct waves.
- The first wave began with increased prescribing of opioids in the 1990s, with overdose deaths involving prescription opioids (natural and semi-synthetic opioids and methadone) increasing since at least 1999.
- The second wave began in 2010, with rapid increases in overdose deaths involving heroin.
- The third wave began in 2013, with significant increases in overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids, particularly those involving illicitly manufactured fentanyl. The market for illicitly manufactured fentanyl continues to change, and it can be found in combination with heroin, counterfeit pills, and cocaine
Many opioid-involved overdose deaths also include other drugs.
Naloxone is a medication that works almost immediately to reverse opiate overdose. Naloxone is currently a prescription drug, but is not a controlled substance. It has few known adverse effects, no potential for abuse and can be rapidly administered through intramuscular injection or nasal spray.
Click the links below for more information on Naloxone.
- Naloxone Overview from the California Department of Public Health
- Naloxone Distribution Project from the California Department of Health Care Services
- Reverse Overdose to Prevent Death from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- How to get NARCAN (also known as Naloxone) from the makers of NARCAN
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