The number of drug overdose deaths in the United States reached an all-time high as the country grappled with the Covid-19 outbreak. According to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 93,331 Americans died of a drug overdose in 2020, representing a roughly 30% rise over the previous year. Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, told CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith” that she is optimistic that the recent increase in drug overdoses will be temporary. “One of the reasons I’m optimistic is because one of the elements that contributed to the increase in drug usage was isolation, social distancing, and it prevents you from providing Narcan, which reverses overdoses,” Volkow said. “Hopefully, the hopelessness that individuals felt will start to dissipate.” People will be able to reconstruct social support structures that existed before to the Covid epidemic, and healthcare systems will be able to emphasis on treating opioid misuse disorder, according to Volkow. In 2020, the United States saw the highest number of deaths from opioid overdoses, with fentanyl accounting for more than 60% of those deaths. Shepard Smith, the show’s host, questioned Volkow on why fentanyl played such a large part in drug overdoses. It had something to do with potency and cost, according to Volkow. “Fentanyl is a tremendously potent substance, 50 times more effective than heroin,” Volkow explained. “You need less doses to get the same effect.” “Fentanyl has been used to contaminate other narcotics, and when you mix it with substances like methamphetamine or cocaine, you make them considerably more dangerous.”/n
Read More
