Fentanyl tops drug overdose death rates

RAND has an interesting report titled “The Future of Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids.” What is truly startling is the rise in deaths due to synthetic opioids like fentanyl in the last 5 years: from 3,000 in 2013 to approximately 30,000 in 2018. In fact, synthetic opioids are now involved in twice as many deaths as heroin.

Further, synthetic opioid-related overdoses often occur when individuals use fentanyl along with other illegal substances.

Fentanyl truly has become a top public health priority.