Ho hum. Another record broken for overdose deaths

The U.S. saw another record number of overdose fatalities in 2022, according to provisional CDC data released on June 14.

Over 109,000 Americans died from drug related overdoses between Jan. 2022 and Jan. 2023, a 0.7% increase from the year before, Reuters reports. This statistic follows the trend of increasing drug overdose deaths, which first broke 100,000 in 2021, due to the heightened mental health pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased availability of deadly drugs such as Fentanyl, Reuters reports.

While the national average increased by 0.7%, a handful of key locales accounted for the majority of the death increase. Washington saw a 24.13% increase in overdose fatalities, New York City saw an increase of 13.91%, and Texas saw an increase of 12.65%, according to CDC data.