evidence: U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths Increased by 31 Percent in 2020; Up 56 Percent for Synthetic Opioids (Washington, DC – January 4, 2022) According to a National Center for Health Statistics report released the last week of 2021 using official annual mortality data, 91,799 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2020. This is an astounding 31 percent increase over the 2019 rate and the largest year-over-year rate increase on record. Additional data suggests that 2021 drug overdose deaths continued to increase, underscoring the negative impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the health and well-being of Americans. The increases in drug deaths occurred nationally, spanning age, sex, and racial/ethnic groups. In both 2019 and 2020, the highest overdose deaths rates were for American Indian/Alaska Native people and the largest percentage increase in drug overdose death rates from 2019 to 2020 were seen in Black and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander people. These data show again the urgent need for comprehensive action to address the nation’s growing substance misuse crisis among diverse populations. [...] - Five states—Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and West Virginia—had drug overdose death rates that increased by more than 50 percent between 2019 and 2020.