US drug overdose deaths involving stimulants without opioids continued to rise in 2024

Addictive Behaviors Reports

Drug overdose deaths (DOD) peaked in 2022 before a decline in rates driven by decrease in opioid-related deaths. We are now in the ‘fourth wave’ of the overdose epidemic, described by DOD involving polysubstance use. As the decline in DOD has been driven largely by decline in deaths related to fentanyl, researchers sought to assess if DOD due to stimulants alone (without opioids) was also seeing a decline. Researchers found that DOD rates related to cocaine without opioids (1.7% increase) and methamphetamines without opioids (2.4% increase) remained stable or increased between 2022 and 2004.  Notably there was some regional variation with the greatest increase in DOD rates seen in the northeast (3.7% for cocaine and 26.7% for methamphetamines). The authors note that stimulant specific interventions may be needed to address the ongoing DOD epidemic.

 

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