Portugal cut drug deaths by 80%, using free health care and addiction treatment. The U.S., meanwhile, focused on drug busts and tough crime laws. Overdose deaths keep rising catastrophically.
"U.S. overdose deaths"
US death toll from drug overdoses is rising fast among Black and Indigenous people
Drug overdoses are killing more people than ever in the U.S., and a new CDC report finds growing racial disparities among those who have died — with the largest increase among Black Americans.
Overdose deaths continued to rise in 2021, reaching historic highs
New numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that synthetic opioid use is driving the overdose crisis in the U.S.
Drug overdose deaths in the U.S. have topped 100,000 for the first time
Experts blame the continuing surge on the spread of more dangerous street drugs and on disruptions to drug treatment programs caused by the pandemic.