Overdose deaths cost US $1 trillion annually, bipartisan report finds
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According to a new bipartisan congressional assessment issued Tuesday, the drug overdose crisis in the United States, which is now predominantly driven by synthetic opioids such as ultra-lethal fentanyl, costs the country nearly $1 trillion every year.

“Whether measured in lives or money, the United States’ drug overdose pandemic should shock everyone,” according to the study. “It’s not acceptable.”

The study offers a thorough look at the opioid crisis, with a focus on the need to strengthen mental health services and extend access to health care for people suffering from addiction.

Three years ago, the White House Council of Economic Advisers estimated the cost of the opioid problem at $700 billion.

According to the latest analysis, the new $1 trillion estimates is based on an increase in overdose fatalities since 2018.
Overdose deaths have more than quadrupled in recent years, rising from over 44,000 in 2013 to over 100,000 between May 2020 and April 2021. According to the research, overdoses kill more people in the United States each year than weapons, suicide, homicide, or vehicle accidents.

“Authorities are generally flying blind” when it comes to knowing the demand for synthetic opioids, according to the report’s authors.
“The United States lacks the data infrastructure to accurately assess the volume of illegally made synthetic opioids consumed in the United States or the number of persons who use them,” according to the paper.

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It is difficult to track fentanyl, especially when it is combined with other medications, such as counterfeit tablets, which consumers may not realize are phony.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, a series of targeted raids conducted across the United States last year as part of a new crackdown on counterfeit prescription medication resulted in the seizure of 1.8 million fake pills, with authorities seeing an increase in the number that contained fentanyl. During the enforcement campaign at the time, the volume of fentanyl-laced tablets recovered was enough to kill 700,000 people.