June 16, 2025- Since the 1990s, overdose deaths in the U.S. have risen significantly, driven by the use of opioid medications and illegal drugs. For decades, the nation has continued to face a severe drug abuse and overdose crisis, calling attention to the urgent need for broader healthcare and public intervention strategies.
Despite ongoing efforts to combat drug abuse, the overdose epidemic has persisted, remaining a complex public health challenge.
Most U.S. overdose deaths involve opioids, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a group of drugs that includes illegal substances like heroin and prescription pain medicines. In 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared the opioid crisis a national public health emergency. Overdose deaths related to illicitly manufactured fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, methamphetamine and cocaine have also reached historic heights.
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