The US Drug Overdose Epidemic is Extreme

Super fact 51 : In 1968 5,033 Americans died from a drug overdose. In 1978 5,506 Americans died from a drug overdose. In 1999 16,801 Americans died from a drug overdose. In 2022 107,941 Americans died from a drug overdose. 82,000 of those deaths involved opioids (about 76%). The number of people who died from an opioid overdose in 2022 was 10 times the number in 1999. More than half of all opioid deaths in the world were Americans despite being only 4.2% of the world population. The hardest hit demographic is white males.

Note the data in the super fact above is taken from Wikipedia, which in turn took it from CDC. However, the data across multiple sources look roughly the same (CDC / CDC, NIDA/NIH, Our world in Data, Wikipedia). I think this is a super fact. I should add that the statistics seem to have improved a little bit in 2023 and 2024.

I’ve posted about good super facts in this blog several times:

However, unfortunately there are also bad super facts, like this one.

The Severe Drug Overdose Epidemic in the US is a Super Fact

We recently went to the funeral for the young son (in his 20’s) of good friends of ours. He died from a drug overdose. The same thing happened to another friend of ours not too long ago. Despite all the talk about drugs, the war of drugs, and the “just say no campaign”, in the 1980’s I don’t remember this happening to people I knew when I was young, so I looked up the statistics. I knew we had an opioid epidemic with Fentanyl being the greatest culprit followed by Heroin. I just didn’t realize how severe it was and how American it was. This is important and shocking and the sources behind the data are reliable, which is why I consider this a super fact.

The United States Has by Far the Highest Death Rate from Opioids

If you play around with this graph from Our World in Data you will notice that the United States has a very high rate of deaths from drug overdoses, especially opioids, much higher than any other country. For example, take my home country Sweden, where 283 people died from opioid in 2021 (398 all drugs, data from IHME). Compare that with the United States, where 55,452 died from opioid in 2021 (70,893 all drugs, data from IHME). Adjust that for the population in each country you get a rate of 16.3 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants for the US and 2.7 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants for the Sweden. Sweden and the US are both open wealthy democracies in which certain opioids are legal for medical purposes but otherwise illegal. The graph below has slightly different numbers but notice that the year (2024) is different.

The picture shows a world map with the death rate from opioids for different countries shown in lighter to darker colors. United States out in dark brown with a death rate of 15.4. Canada also looks dark with a death rate of 6.9. Most of the rest of the world have a lighter color | The US Drug Overdose Epidemic is Extreme
Data source : Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), Global Burden of Disease (2024). The graph is taken from Our World in Data .

Some illustrative Graphics on Drug Deaths

The graphs below illustrate both the sharp rise in drug related deaths, especially opioids, as well as how hard hit the United States is compared to the rest of the world.

The graph shows a steep increase of deaths from opioids. Deaths from other drugs such as cocaine and amphetamine are relatively minor | The US Drug Overdose Epidemic is Extreme
The population of the United States is 340 million.
In this graph cocaine is the dominant cause of death. However, at less than 1,400 it is relatively minor compared to the deaths from opioids in the US | The US Drug Overdose Epidemic is Extreme
The population of South America is 438 million
This graph shows an increase in deaths from opiods, like the US graph, but it is more moderate.
The population of Europe is 744 million.
This graph is swinging up and then down, and does not show the strong upward trend that the US graph does.
The population of Asia is 4,800 million.
The graph shows a death rate per 100,000 of 21.4 for opioids, 17.8 for synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, 4.9 for prescription opioids, 4.1 for heroin, and 6.0 for cocaine | The US Drug Overdose Epidemic is Extreme
This graph shows the contribution to US deaths from specific drugs including synthetic opioids (Fentanyl), Heroin, prescription opioids, and cocaine. Notice that the vertical axis shows the death rate per 100,000 people and not the total number of deaths. Data source : US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention WONDER. Note: Opioids include prescription pain relief drugs, synthetic opioids, excluding methadone and other opioids such as heroin. The graph is taken from Our World in Data.
To see the other Super Facts click here

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Author: thomasstigwikman

My name is Thomas Wikman. I am a software/robotics engineer with a background in physics. I am currently retired. I took early retirement. I am a dog lover, and especially a Leonberger lover, a home brewer, craft beer enthusiast, I’m learning French, and I am an avid reader. I live in Dallas, Texas, but I am originally from Sweden. I am married to Claudia, and we have three children. I have two blogs. The first feature the crazy adventures of our Leonberger Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle as well as information on Leonbergers. The second blog, superfactful, feature information and facts I think are very interesting. With this blog I would like to create a list of facts that are accepted as true among the experts of the field and yet disputed amongst the public or highly surprising. These facts are special and in lieu of a better word I call them super-facts.

79 thoughts on “The US Drug Overdose Epidemic is Extreme”

  1. A good one to point out, Thomas. Pretty terrible. I think at this point everybody must know somebody or know of somebody who’s died of an overdose.  Best, Ben Bennett Voylesbennettvoyles.de Tel.  +49 151 62967276 Winterfeldtstr. 39 10781 Berlin, Germany

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    1. No what DT says isn’t what I would consider a reliable source of information. I took a look at some statistics real quick. I did not investigate further, but it said that less than 1% of the Fentanyl and other illicit opioids come from Canada, 0.2% said another source. Most is imported from West Asia, China and Mexico.

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    2. Speaking about being adressed. The Halt Fentanyl Act H.R.27 (House resolution 27) and the Senate version S.331 (Senate bill 331) was just signed into law. On Tuesday I am going to personally thank my Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne (TX-24) for voting Yes for it.

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  4. The opioid crisis in the United States is not just a public health concern. It is a national tragedy unfolding in plain sight. These are not just statistics. They are a reflection of a deeper crisis, one that continues to take lives, tear apart families, challenge care systems, justice. Behind every number is a human story, a loss, a life, a future cut short. Very sad and worrying.

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    1. Yes you are right Patricia. I did not know that the young man we/our friends recently lost had an addiction problem. We’ve known him since he was a little kid and he was exceptionally bright and successful, and then we are invited to his funeral. I knew it was bad before I looked up the statistics, but I did not know that the problem had sky rocketed 10-20 times since 1980’s/1990’s, nor that the US was especially hard hit.

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  5. For those of us who have lost a loved one to drugs, this goes so much deeper than even the horrific statistics. Thanks, Thomas, for highlighting the severe problem.

    Is there a correlation between drug use and the emerging statistics on social media? I wonder about the violence and suicides.

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    1. I am so sorry Grant. It is so tragic and so strange. I knew it was bad before I looked up the statistics, but I did not know that the problem had sky rocketed 10-20 times since 1980’s/1990’s, nor that the US was much harder hit than the rest of the world. But of course every statistics among the millions who have persihed is a loved one. I do not know the reasons behind this but social media is just as widespread in Europe and even though the drug and opioid problem has grown worse there too, it is far from being as bad as in the US.

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  6. To see the stats is quite the blow. I’ve intuited for years that it was horrible. We’ve lost people in my extended family. And it’s not just death—which is bad enough—but lost wages, lost time. lost potential of the addict even while they’re sober. One distant family member died in her late 40s of organ failure becaue of damage sustained while she was a user.

    I don’t know why it’s so much worse here than elsewhere, but I’d like to see it treated as a public health issue rather than a criminal problem. I’d rather see addicts in treatment as opposed to locked up—knowing full well that recidivism is part of the addiction.

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    1. Despite knowing about the problem, and the people we know who died from this problem, I just did not realize how much the problem has grown, well exploded in size, and I did not realize how typically American the problem is. It is a mystery to me, but researching that is for another time. I agree with you Denise. It should be treated as a health problem, and a health emergency, like an epidemic, and not a criminal one. The addicts need help not prison.

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  7. This is interesting and very sad. I didn’t realize this problem was this bad. Do you know of any good studies that examine why it’s this bad in the United States? Politicians tend to focus on cutting off supply, which is a comparatively straightforward approach, but understanding the actual reason so many Americans start on opioids in the first place seems like an important step to combatting the problem. I have heard that Fentanyl is both more addictive and potentially deadlier than other opioids, so that’s clearly part of the issue, but you still have to be tempted to try it in the first place to get addicted.

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    1. I didn’t realize it was this bad either, but after the funeral of a young son of a friend of ours last weekend I decided to find out how bad it is. It was not the first time this happened to one of our friends. Thinking back on it, it is pretty common, but why? You are asking a good question and I tried searching for the answer online, but I did not find an answer that I found to be satisfying. Despair, poverty, stress, too much money, too little money, doesn’t explain why it is so bad in the US because those conditions exist all around world. It is also curious that white non-hispanic males are so hard hit by this. Basically, I have no idea. You are right about the Fentanyl. That seems to be the worst one. I believe that was what our friend had been using.

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  9. Yikes, some startling numbers with incredibly tragic stories behind each statistic. Sigh, the seemingly unwindable war on drugs. Great band by the way, if you ever get a chance to listen. I found the bit on opioids the most surprising, it feels like it’s so easy for someone to get sucked into a messy situation. My condolences on the death of your family friend.

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  10. For a long time, the healthcare industry pushed narcotics on people post-surgery, etc. In fact, I knew of several doctors who lost their medical licenses for abusing their prescribing privileges. People were dying of liver, pancreatic, and kidney disease. People were becoming addicted. In the hospital, if nurses didn’t give narcotics whenever patients asked for them, they would get into trouble. Well, that finally changed. Pain management is now seen as more than just pushing drugs. It involves a lot of strategies because “more is not better.” Unfortunately, people dependent on narcotics will seek a source on the street, not knowing what the drugs are laced with. And when people go through rehab and clean up, they will often go back to the habit once they leave and use the same dosage they used before and overdose. Often, marijuana bought from the local drug dealer is laced with ecstasy, meth, and fentanyl without the buyer knowing it. I personally do not believe in substance use because it all too often leads to abuse, but American society glorifies drugs and alcohol and “getting high.” We are even seeing more weed, alcohol, and cigarette use in TV shows and movies. The statistics don’t surprise me at all.

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    1. Thank you so much for this information Dawn. I did not say anything about the potential causes for all of this because I don’t know much about that issue. However, as a former nurse you have interesting insights. I believe you are right.

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  12. Thank you, Thomas. This is so heartbreaking. I wonder if there is a correlation between age, social media, and drug use. It seems to me (as a counselor) that the level of despair, disillusionment, purposelessness, etc., has climbed exponentially. But I don’t have the facts to prove my point.

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    1. Thank you so much Gwen. I just noticed the shocking statistics. I don’t know what is behind it, but Dawn, who is a former nurse, commented above on how opioids have been misused in healthcare. Maybe something like that. As for the son our friends lost. We know them very well but we still did not know he had an addiction problem.

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  15. I did not realize the steepness of this increase over time. I do remember me and family members being prescribed significantly more opiate pain pills than needed for minor surgeries. After 30 years as a substance abuse counselor, I learned that most people in the general public underestimate the power of addiction and how much work it takes to fight it. It’s a slippery slope requiring daily work, support, and vigilance for successful recovery.

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    1. You are the second person (see Dawn above) who are bringing up prescriptions. I have not investigated the why, since that is a lot more complex than just finding the statistics, but I think you two are onto something. Thank you so much JoAnna.

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      1. You’re welcome. It might have improved in the past few years, but there are standards for prescribing and I wonder if they’re too high. If people have a lot left over, where do they go? Flushing them is not good for the environment.

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        1. Yes most statistics I’ve found ended in 2022 when drug related deaths in the US seemed to have peaked. But the sites that included 2023 and 2024 seemed to indicate that it has gotten a little bit better over the last two years. You are right, there should be a place to dispose of unused medication, but my local CVS has that. It should not go in the toilet.

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  18. Interesting and alarming!

    PS: Since I wasn’t able to reply to your comment about The Fatal Kiss, which appeared on LatinosUSA —English edition, I thank you here for appreciating it and for adding that witty observation about your daughter and her silk dresses, after shopping.

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    1. Some super facts are good and surprising facts. Some super facts are bad and surprising facts. Today I personally thanked, first Senator Ted Cruz and then Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne (my congress person TX-24) for passing the Halt Fentanyl Act. It signed into law on July 16. I hope that will make it better. I was in Washington DC today to talk to politicians about climate change but I brought up this subject as well. Ted Cruz may not be very concerned about climate change but he was very nice to us and me.

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        1. Yes that is true. However, I’ve met with several politicians who are not “on our side”, and they were not always friendly and took the opportunity to preach their misguided beliefs to us instead of listening. Cruz doesn’t do that.

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  22. Those statistics are horrifying Thomas. And sadly, so very many overdoses are in the younger gen. Honestly, this world is so topsy turvy, I can’t imagine how the young ones can process everything. Drugs are often a great escape for many. 😥

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    1. I agree, it is horrifying statistics and we know a number of young people who have lost their lives to it. There are problems that are getting better, some almost gone, and there are problems that are starting to getting better even though there is a long way still, and then there are problems like this one which have been really bad lately. The world is a mix of successes and setbacks. I am hoping that the Halt Fentanyl Act that was signed into law on July 16 will make a difference.

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  26. Those are alarming statistics and Canada’s are higher than I expected. 😲 I fear for the future of young generations and am sorry for the loss of your friends’ son. So many parents are in that same situation. 😔

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    1. Thank you so much Debbie. Like you say, a lot of parents are in this situation. Another friend of ours lost their son the same way last year. I was in Washington DC on a conference (Citizens Climate Lobby), and I visited congressional offices. I thanked a couple of them for their support for a resolution that was signed into law July 16. It is called the Halt Fentanyl Act. Hopefully it will have some impact. I knew it was bad. I just did not realize how bad the statistics really was and I am quite frankly surprised that Canada has a pretty problem too.

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