US drug overdoses soar to record number in 2020, fueled by pandemic

• CDC data shows over 93,000 people died, a 30% rise from 2019
• Rise was mostly triggered by pandemic-related stressors

More than 93,000 people died from drug overdoses in the US last year, a record number that reflects a 30% rise from 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In new provisional data released on Wednesday, health officials found that the rise in fatal overdoses was mostly triggered by pandemic-related stressors, treatment inaccessibility and the proliferation of fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid.