CDC Report Paints Grim Picture Of Rapidly Escalating Fentanyl Overdoses That Have Hit Vulnerable Communities Hard

The death rate among African Americans from fentanyl-involved drug overdoses rose 141 percent each year, on average, from 2011 to 2016, and the death rate for Hispanics rose 118 percent in that period every year on average. Altogether, the records revealed that more than 36,000 Americans died with fentanyl in their systems during the study period. The majority of those deaths — 18,335 — occurred in 2016 alone. Meanwhile, the nation's top medical advisers say that medication for addiction is vastly underused.

from Kaiser Health News https://ift.tt/2FtBKT3