Fentanyl pushes US drug deaths to record levels with 93,000 fatal overdoses last year
A record number of people died of a drug overdose in the US last year, according to government estimates.
The death toll of 93,000 is a big increase from the 72,000 estimate in the previous year, and it means there were more than 250 deaths each day, roughly 11 every hour.
Only two states – New Hampshire and South Dakota – did not see an increase in drug overdose deaths.
Kentucky saw a 54% increase to more than 2,100 and Vermont was up 58% – from 118 to 186, with large increases also seen in South Carolina, West Virginia, and California.
There is no evidence that more Americans started using drugs last year but the deaths were more likely to be among those who were already struggling with their addiction, according to Shannon Monnat, an associate professor of sociology at Syracuse University.
Prof Monnat, who researches geographic patterns in overdoses, said some addicts also told her that, when benefits were extended and evictions were paused as part of government pandemic measures, they had more money to feed their addiction.
Lockdowns and other pandemic-related restrictions left addicts isolated and made it more difficult for them to get treatment.
Needle exchange programmes, opioid substitution therapy, safe injection sites, support groups, and therapy sessions were all curtailed by social distancing and stay-at-home orders.
Jordan McGlashen, left, and his brother, Collin
Jordan McGlashen died after overdosing on heroin and fentanyl in his Michigan apartment in May last year, a day before his 39th birthday.
The musician had seen his father die of cancer a few months earlier and had also lost his job in the early days of the pandemic.
His brother Collin said: “He was alone, and suffering emotionally and felt like he had to use again.”
“Someone can be doing really well for so long and then, in a flash, deteriorate.
“It was really difficult for me to think about the way in which Jordan died.”
Decades ago, overdoses were driven by prescription painkillers but they were overtaken by heroin, with around 7,200 deaths in 1970.
By 1988, crack cocaine was the drug of choice and there were about 9,000 overdose deaths.
Then fentanyl took over and it is thought to have been involved in more than 60% of overdose deaths last year, with opioids overall blamed for 74.7%.
Fentanyl, which is 80-100 times stronger than morphine, was made to treat pain from illnesses such as cancer but it is now mixed with other drugs and sold illicitly.
It is too soon for national figures covering 2021 but state data so far indicates that fentanyl is continuing to push up the number of drug overdose deaths.
Rhode Island reported 34 in January and 37 in February – the most for those months in at least five years.
Prof Monnat said: “What’s really driving the surge in overdoses is this increasingly poisoned drug supply.
“Nearly all of this increase is fentanyl contamination in some way. Heroin is contaminated. Cocaine is contaminated. Methamphetamine is contaminated.”
US
The shock of a shooting will cut deeply – but if anywhere can find hope in the face of despair, Providence can
“Most of us live off hope” – the text of a colourful mural, painted on a wall on Hope Street, Providence.
On most days, the neighbourhood around Brown University feels like a place of quiet optimism, swimming against the negative tide.
Hope Street’s mural
The shock of a shooting, that has claimed two lives and left eight others critically wounded, will cut deeply here.
Violence feels not just intrusive but incompatible with the spirit of a place that is governed by thought, not threat.
When the university president said “this is a day we hoped would never come”, she spoke for the whole town.
Two students were killed in the attack
Providence, Rhode Island, is a place I know well. My daughter, her husband and their two little girls live there.
It is a college town with a college vibe, the compact campus priding itself on openness – architecturally, intellectually and emotionally.
They rehearse “shelter-in-place” scenarios, as every university does, but they are not experienced at living behind locked doors.
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‘Stay inside,’ mayor warns as suspect still at large
Rhode Island, the smallest state, has one of the lowest gun-death rates in America, zero mass shooting events in 2024.
Earlier this year, the state banned the sale and manufacture of assault weapons, but it didn’t include those already owned.
Even in a Democratic, liberal state like Rhode Island, they are struggling to find a solution to America’s gun problem.
People hug each other outside Brown University in Providence after the shooting. Pic: Reuters
The age-old constitutional right to bear arms continues to trump the most human of all rights – the right to life.
This is a community that assumes safety, not because it is naïve, but because it has grown accustomed to trust.
College Hill rises in gentle brick and ivy, its narrow streets winding past houses with verandas designed for long conversations.
They take place in hushed tones right now, but if anywhere can find its way out of despair, Providence can.
On the historic street along its east side and in the college on the corner, most people live off hope.
US director and actor Rob Reiner and his wife have been found dead at their home in Los Angeles, Sky News’s US partner NBC News has reported.
A source close to Reiner told the outlet he and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, apparently died of stab wounds.
A family member is being questioned by investigators, a law enforcement official told the AP news agency.
A 78-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman were found dead inside the property, a Los Angeles Fire Department official said. Reiner turned 78 in March.
Detectives from the LAPD Robbery Homicide Division have been assigned to the case, the force said in a statement.
‘Apparent homicide’
LAPD Captain Mike Bland said they were investigating an “apparent homicide”.
Reports said there was a large police presence at the house.
Reiner starred in Sleepless In Seattle and The Wolf Of Wall Street and directed This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally and A Few Good Men.
Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass said Reiner’s death was a devastating loss for the city.
“Rob Reiner’s contributions reverberate throughout American culture and society, and he has improved countless lives through his creative work and advocacy fighting for social and economic justice,” she said.
“An acclaimed actor, director, producer, writer, and engaged political activist, he always used his gifts in service of others.”
‘Creative, funny, and beloved’
Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi said: “It’s hard to think of anyone more remarkable and excellent in every field and endeavour they pursued. Rob was creative, funny, and beloved. And in all of their endeavours, Michelle was his indispensable partner, intellectual resource, and loving wife.
“Personally, Rob cared deeply about people and demonstrated that in his civic activities – whether by supporting the First 5 initiative or fighting against Prop 8 in California. Civically, he was a champion for the First Amendment and the creative rights of artists. And professionally, he was an iconic figure in film who made us laugh, cry and think with the movies he created.”
Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner. Pic: AP
Actress Kathy Bates told NBC News: “I’m horrified hearing this terrible news. Absolutely devastated. I loved Rob. He was brilliant and kind, a man who made films of every genre to challenge himself as an artist. He also fought courageously for his political beliefs. He changed the course of my life. Michelle was a gifted photographer. She shot my beautiful photos for the Misery campaign. My heart breaks for them both. My thoughts are with their family.”
Reiner was married to Michele Singer Reiner since 1989, after they met while he was directing When Harry Met Sally. They have three children together.
Michele used to work as a photographer and took the photo of Donald Trump that appears on the cover of his book Trump: The Art Of The Deal.
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Police are releasing a man detained in connection with the fatal shooting on the campus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
Two people were killed and nine others, all or nearly all of whom are also believed to be students, were injured in the attack on Saturday.
Earlier, three senior law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation told Sky’s US partner NBC News the detained man, who is being released, was 24-year-old Benjamin Erickson, who had served several years in the US army.
The release means that the suspected gunman remains at large.
Speaking at a news conference, Providence mayor Brett Smiley said: “We know that this is likely to cause fresh anxiety for our community and we want to reiterate what we said earlier… which is ever since the initial call, now a day and a half ago, we have not received any credible or specific threats to the Providence community.
“So the status of safety in our community remains unchanged, and we believe that you remain safe in our community.”
Mr Smiley said there would be a continuation of an enhanced police presence throughout the city and on the university campus.
“We have not yet solved this case, but I am confident we are going to do that in the near future,” Rhode Island attorney general Peter Neronha said.
Part of the Brown University campus, the right side of the C-shaped block is the engineering building. Pic: Reuters
The shooting happened inside a classroom on the first floor of the Barus & Holley engineering building, a seven-storey structure home to much of the university’s engineering and physics study and research.
Brown University provost Frank Doyle confirmed final exams were taking place in the engineering building when the gunman opened fire.
Pics: AP
A police official told the AP news agency the gunman fired more than 40 9mm rounds. A gun has not been recovered, but officers did seize two loaded 30-round magazines.
A video released by officials shows a suspect walking down a street away from the campus and turning a corner, dressed in dark, loose-fitting clothing.
Pics: AP
Seven people injured in the shooting were in a stable condition, the Providence mayor, Mr Smiley, said. One remained in critical but stable condition, while another had been discharged, he added.
Brown is a private university with roughly 7,300 undergraduate students and more than 3,000 graduate students.
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