In 2021, the United States saw more drug overdoses than in any year on record, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Nearly 108,000 people died of drug overdoses in 2021, and that number surged during the pandemic — up 30 percent from 2019 to 2020 and 15 percent from 2020 to 2021. Two-thirds of the overdose deaths in 2021 involved fentanyl or another synthetic opioid, according to the data. 

Tom Britton

Tom Britton, CEO of American Addiction Centers