2017 a record year for deaths from drugs and suicide

Source:  Centersfor Disease Control and Prevention

Deaths From Drugs and Suicide Reach a Record in the U.S.  (The New York Times, 3/7/2019)

Twenty years ago, less than 1,000 deaths a year were attributed to fentanyl and synthetic opioids. In 2017, more than 1,000 Americans died from synthetic opioid overdoses every two weeks, topping 28,000 for the year. 

Most of the increase was concentrated in the preceding five years, when such deaths rose tenfold and the opioid epidemic became the leading cause of death for Americans under 55. 

West Virginia and New Mexico had the highest number of deaths, the analysis showed, with Mississippi and Texas the lowest .

Related reading:
Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 1999-2017.  (Centersfor Disease Control and Prevention)
Suicide Mortality in the United States, 1999-2017.  (Centersfor Disease Control and Prevention)