Overdose Deaths Linked to Cocaine and Meth are Surging

Deaths due to overdoses linked to cocaine and methamphetamine are on the rise, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Of the more than 70,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2017, almost one-third involved cocaine, psychostimulant drugs including meth, or both, HealthDay reports.

The CDC found 20 percent of drug overdose deaths (almost 14,000) involved cocaine—a 34.4 percent rise from 2016. Almost 15 percent of fatal drug overdoses in 2017 (about 10,000) involved psychostimulants—an increase of 37 percent from the previous year.

Almost three-fourths of cocaine-related deaths in 2017 also involved opioids, as did about half of psychostimulant-related deaths. Fentanyl often was involved in these deaths, the researchers found.