Drug Deaths in America Are Rising Faster Than Ever

AKRON, Ohio — Drug overdose deaths in 2016 most likely exceeded 59,000, the largest annual jump ever recorded in the United States, according to preliminary data compiled by The New York Times.

The death count is the latest consequence of an escalating public health crisis: opioid addiction, now made more deadly by an influx of illicitly manufactured fentanyl and similar drugs. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death among Americans under 50.

Although the data is preliminary, the Times’s best estimate is that deaths rose 19 percent over the 52,404 recorded in 2015. And all evidence suggests the problem has continued to worsen in 2017.

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The scourge of addiction in general and opiate addiction in particular has reached epic proportions.  The US needs to declare war on this epidemic.  Insurance companies need to loosen restrictions.   Prior authorizations for life-saving medications need to end immediately.  Restrictions to treatment need to stop.