A quiet and relatively unnoticed epidemic of deaths from methamphetamine abuse hit the United States from 2011 to 2018, largely overshadowed by a parallel surge in opioid overdose fatalities that dominated headlines, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) said in a report on Thursday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st January, 2021) A quiet and relatively unnoticed epidemic of deaths from methamphetamine abuse hit the United States from 2011 to 2018, largely overshadowed by a parallel surge in opioid overdose fatalities that dominated headlines, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) said in a report on Thursday.
"While much attention is focused on the opioid crisis, a methamphetamine crisis has been quietly, but actively, gaining steam - particularly among American Indians and Alaska Natives, who are disproportionately affected by a number of health conditions," NIDA Director Nora Volkow said in a press release explaining the report.
Deaths involving methamphetamines rose from 1.8 to 10.1 per 100,000 men, and from 0.8 to 4.5 per 100,000 women. This represents a more than five-fold increase from 2011 to 2018, the release said.
American Indians and Alaska Natives were especially hard hit during the eight year period, with fatality rates rising from 4.5 to 20.9 per 100,000 people - more than twice the overall average, the release added.
The report is being published on Thursday in the American Medical Association (AMA) journal "Psychiatry," according to the release.
The AMA recently reported opioid-related deaths continued to increase during, and possibly as a result of, the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, particularly from illicitly manufactured fentanyl and fentanyl analogs.
In 2019, prior to the onset of the pandemic, the US authorities reported more than 50,000 opioid overdose deaths, despite a nationwide crackdown on legal prescriptions for opioid-containing drugs.
