Â鶹´«Ã½

World

    • U.S. overdose deaths hit record 93,000 in pandemic last year

    Share
    NEW YORK -

    Overdose deaths soared to a record 93,000 last year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government reported Wednesday.

    That estimate far eclipses the high of about 72,000 drug overdose deaths reached the previous year and amounts to a 29% increase.

    "This is a staggering loss of human life," said Brandon Marshall, a Brown University public health researcher who tracks overdose trends.

    The nation was already struggling with its worst overdose epidemic but clearly "COVID has greatly exacerbated the crisis," he added.

    Lockdowns and other pandemic restrictions isolated those with drug addictions and made treatment harder to get, experts said.

    Jordan McGlashen died of a drug overdose in his Ypsilanti, Michigan, apartment last year. He was pronounced dead on May 6, the day before his 39th birthday.

    "It was really difficult for me to think about the way in which Jordan died. He was alone, and suffering emotionally and felt like he had to use again," said his younger brother, Collin McGlashen, who wrote openly about his brother's addiction in an obituary.

    Jordan McGlashen's death was attributed to heroin and fentanyl.

    While prescription painkillers once drove the nation's overdose epidemic, they were supplanted first by heroin and then by fentanyl, a dangerously powerful opioid, in recent years. Fentanyl was developed to treat intense pain from ailments like cancer but has increasingly been sold illicitly and mixed with other drugs.

    "What's really driving the surge in overdoses is this increasingly poisoned drug supply," said Shannon Monnat, an associate professor of sociology at Syracuse University who researches geographic patterns in overdoses. "Nearly all of this increase is fentanyl contamination in some way. Heroin is contaminated. Cocaine is contaminated. Methamphetamine is contaminated."

    Fentanyl was involved in more than 60% of the overdose deaths last year, CDC data suggests.

    There's no current evidence that more Americans started using drugs last year, Monnat said. Rather, the increased deaths most likely were people who had already been struggling with addiction. Some have told her research team that suspensions of evictions and extended unemployment benefits left them with more money than usual. And they said "when I have money, I stock up on my (drug) supply," she said.

    Overdose deaths are just one facet of what was overall the deadliest year in U.S. history. With about 378,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19, the nation saw more than 3.3 million deaths.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reviewed death certificates to come up with the estimate for 2020 drug overdose deaths. The estimate of over 93,000 translates to an average of more than 250 deaths each day, or roughly 11 every hour.

    The 21,000 increase is the biggest year-to-year jump since the count rose by 11,000 in 2016.

    More historical context: According to the CDC, there were fewer than 7,200 total U.S. overdose deaths reported in 1970, when a heroin epidemic was raging in U.S. cities. There were about 9,000 in 1988, around the height of the crack epidemic.

    The CDC reported that in 2020 drug overdoses increased in all but two states, New Hampshire and South Dakota.

    Kentucky's overdose count rose 54% last year to more than 2,100, up from under 1,400 the year before. There were also large increases in South Carolina, West Virginia and California. Vermont had the largest jump, of about 58%, but smaller numbers -- 118 to 186.

    The proliferation of fentanyl is one reason some experts do not expect any substantial decline in drug overdose deaths this year. Though national figures are not yet available, there is data emerging from some states that seems to support their pessimism. Rhode Island, for example, reported 34 overdose deaths in January and 37 in February -- the most for those months in at least five years.

    For Collin McGlashen, last year was "an incredibly dark time" that began in January with the cancer death of the family's beloved patriarch.

    Their father's death sent his musician brother Jordan into a tailspin, McGlashen said.

    "Someone can be doing really well for so long and then, in a flash, deteriorate," he said.

    Then came the pandemic. Jordan lost his job. "It was kind of a final descent."

    ------

    The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

    CTVNews.ca Top Stories

    A 15-year-old boy from Kitchener, Ont. is facing a long list of criminal charges as the Waterloo Regional Police Service wraps up a lengthy swatting investigation.

    Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus was among approximately 120 people who gathered Sunday night for a candlelight vigil near the scene of a vicious attack against a 16-year-old in Cobalt.

    A B.C. woman who stole more than $14,000 in volunteer-raised funds that were supposed to be spent on school supplies and programs – including hot meals for vulnerable kids – won't spend any time in jail.

    A team of tornado experts are investigating a path of damage through Wellington County.

    Canada

    • A B.C. woman who stole more than $14,000 in volunteer-raised funds that were supposed to be spent on school supplies and programs – including hot meals for vulnerable kids – won't spend any time in jail.

    • A 15-year-old boy from Kitchener, Ont. is facing a long list of criminal charges as the Waterloo Regional Police Service wraps up a lengthy swatting investigation.

    • A team of tornado experts are investigating a path of damage through Wellington County.

    • Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus was among approximately 120 people who gathered Sunday night for a candlelight vigil near the scene of a vicious attack against a 16-year-old in Cobalt.

    • Two nephews of the beloved Harry R. Hamilton share stories about his life and legacy.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    Business

    Lifestyle

    Sports

    • The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed forward Max Pacioretty on the injured reserve with a lower-body injury, the team announced Monday.

    • Canada will be without captain Alphonso Davies for its upcoming CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.

    Autos

    Local Spotlight

    For the second year in a row, the ‘Gift-a-Family’ campaign is hoping to make the holidays happier for children and families in need throughout Barrie.

    Some of the most prolific photographers behind CTV Skywatch Pics of the Day use the medium for fun, therapy, and connection.

    A young family from Codroy Valley, N.L., is happy to be on land and resting with their newborn daughter, Miley, after an overwhelming, yet exciting experience at sea.

    As Connor Nijsse prepared to remove some old drywall during his garage renovation, he feared the worst.

    A group of women in Chester, N.S., has been busy on the weekends making quilts – not for themselves, but for those in need.

    A Vancouver artist whose streetside singing led to a chance encounter with one of the world's biggest musicians is encouraging aspiring performers to try their hand at busking.

    Ten-thousand hand-knit poppies were taken from the Sanctuary Arts Centre and displayed on the fence surrounding the Dartmouth Cenotaph on Monday.

    A Vancouver man is saying goodbye to his nine-to-five and embarking on a road trip from the Canadian Arctic to Antarctica.

    • A B.C. woman who stole more than $14,000 in volunteer-raised funds that were supposed to be spent on school supplies and programs – including hot meals for vulnerable kids – won't spend any time in jail.

    • A B.C. teen has a suspected case of H5N1 avian flu — the first known human to acquire the virus in Canada.

    • Discounts abound at a new eatery in downtown Vancouver that offers pizzas and fry towers at a base price of $9.11, as a tribute to first responders.

    • Several hundred people gathered outside the Ontario legislature in Toronto to honour veterans and remember those who died fighting for their country.

    • Toronto is expected to see an economic boost to the tune of nearly $300 million thanks to Taylor Swift’s upcoming Eras Tour, which will be making a stop in Canada’s largest city for a six-show run later this month.

    • A man believed to be in his 40s has been rushed to a trauma centre following a stabbing in downtown Toronto.

    • EXTENDED VIDEO

      EXTENDED VIDEO

      Calgarians observed Remembrance Day at a number of different ceremonies across the city on Monday, including at the Hangar Flight Museum.

    • A memorial walk was held Sunday afternoon by the Calgary branch of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress to “honour the Canadian soldiers who died fighting for peace in the past and the Ukrainian soldiers who are giving their lives for freedom today,†according to a media release.

    • July 2025 may seem like it’s in the distant future, but for the St. Luke playground committee time is ticking to fundraise the $340,000 they still need to build a new playground.

    • Dr. Ronald Weiss, who performed nearly 60,000 vasectomies on Ottawa men, establishing him as the "Wayne Gretzky" of the procedure, has died.

    • Crowds gathered in Ottawa and eastern Ontario on Monday to honour the sacrifice of men and women in uniform who gave their lives in service of Canada.

    • The company confirms it will open the new Chipotle at 5671 Hazeldean Road on Thursday, in the former location of Benny & Co.

    • A 36-year-old Montreal man who was out on bail after allegedly uttering death threats against his partner is now accused of murdering her on the South Shore.

    • Hundreds of people gathered in downtown Montreal on Monday to mark Remembrance Day and honour Canadians who sacrificed their lives in the great wars and beyond.

    • Private Martine Roy was only 20 years old in 1984 when she was arrested, interrogated and dismissed from the Canadian Armed Forces for being what was then termed a "sexual deviant."

    • Edmonton's Beverly Memorial Cenotaph on Monday hosted its 104th Remembrance Day service to honour past and present veterans.

    • Edmonton’s largest legion says it’s holding its own after struggling to stay open after the pandemic.

    • Thousands of Maritimers turned out in wet weather Monday to remember those who have served, and continue to serve, in Canada's armed forces for Remembrance Day.

    • A Cape Breton senior recalls her life in German-occupied France, and her mother’s death, during the Second World War.

    • Thousand of people gathered at the Menin Gate in the Ypres, Belgium for Monday’s Remembrance Day Ceremony.

    • Four teenagers have been arrested in connection with the attack and robbery of a 62-year-old woman.

    • A sacred fire burning in Winnipeg has brought healing and hope to some members of Xavia Skye Lynn Butler’s family.

    • A Manitoba-shot Christmas movie was on the nice list at the box office last weekend.

    • November 11th marks a solemn day across Canada, and Regina is no exception.

    • Fire crews reported that no one was hurt after flames broke out in a home on Robinson Street in central Regina.

    • Regina author Valerie Crowther is celebrating the release of her book ‘War Letters: Linking Lives in the Second World War.’

    • A team of tornado experts are investigating a path of damage through Wellington County.

    • A 15-year-old boy from Kitchener, Ont. is facing a long list of criminal charges as the Waterloo Regional Police Service wraps up a lengthy swatting investigation.

    • Staff say future affordable housing projects in the Region of Waterloo could be very costly.

    • Saskatchewan RCMP are searching for a suspect after a man was seriously injured in a farm-related incident in Montreal Lake.

    • It was a somber day at Mosaic Stadium as members of the Saskatchewan Roughriders officially cleaned out their stalls and closed the book on the 2024 season.

    • The Regina Rams claimed the Hardy Cup after a hard fought battle against the Saskatoon Huskies 19-14 on Saturday in the first all Saskatchewan U-Sports western conference final since 2002.

    • Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus was among approximately 120 people who gathered Sunday night for a candlelight vigil near the scene of a vicious attack against a 16-year-old in Cobalt.

    • WATCH

      WATCH

      Men and women from Canadian Services, along with those who serve on local police forces marched up Dufferin Ave. toward the cenotaph on Monday morning.

    • Failing to comply with a property standards order issued by city hall could add almost $100,000 to the tax bill of a prominent eyesore in east London.

    • Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley expresses concerns about talk of tariffs and Great Lakes water diversion by president-elect Donald Trump.

    • A Barrie man is accused of being at the centre of an alleged $2.2 million stolen used car scheme.

    • An unseasonably mild fall in Simcoe County has put any hopes for an early start to the ski season on hold, still, one local resort has its sights set on the slopes.

    • Midland has become the latest among urban mayors to call on the province to enact a controversial clause to tackle the homeless crisis.

    • A local high school honoured veterans of the “Forgotten War†on Monday.

    • Upwards of 1000 handmade poppies are on display outside Lifetimes on Riverside Retirement home on Riverside Drive East, part of its fourth annual Poppy Project.

    • After a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) worker took their own life while on shift at the Ambassador Bridge Saturday, Â鶹´«Ã½ Public Safety Analyst Chris Lewis highlighted the mental health burdens faced daily by law enforcement.

    • A B.C. woman who stole more than $14,000 in volunteer-raised funds that were supposed to be spent on school supplies and programs – including hot meals for vulnerable kids – won't spend any time in jail.

    • A B.C. teen has a suspected case of H5N1 avian flu — the first known human to acquire the virus in Canada.

    • Environment Canada says heavy rain and winds could cause power outages on Vancouver Island as an "intense" storm system is set to hit the B.C. coast Sunday.

    • A B.C. woman who stole more than $14,000 in volunteer-raised funds that were supposed to be spent on school supplies and programs – including hot meals for vulnerable kids – won't spend any time in jail.

    • The emergency department at South Okanagan General Hospital in Oliver, B.C., will be closed for 31 hours this weekend, the second such closure in a week and the third since the start of November.

    • Police in Kamloops, B.C., are reminding parents and guardians to check their children's Halloween candy after receiving a report of a mother finding a razor blade in one of her daughter's treats.

    • The Southern Alberta Recreation Association is officially announcing the Town of Taber as next year’s host for the Southern Alberta Summer Games.

    • The Lethbridge Hurricanes broke open a close game with three goals in the first two minutes of the third period as they defeated the Warriors 7-3 in a game played Friday night in Moose Jaw.

    • There might not a lot snow just yet, but many southern Albertans are still itching to get outdoors.

    • Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus was among approximately 120 people who gathered Sunday night for a candlelight vigil near the scene of a vicious attack against a 16-year-old in Cobalt.

    • It was just days before the COVID-19 pandemic shut the world down when the Shaft Bottom Boys of Sudbury broke a world record for 'Deepest Concert Underground.' Now, more than four years later, a Timmins band is looking to take the title.

    • Police say that a 16-year-old was attacked with a sword Nov. 3 in Cobalt, Ont., in a case of intimate partner violence.

    N.L.

    Shopping Trends

    The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at Â鶹´«Ã½. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.

    Stay Connected
    Follow Â鶹´«Ã½