Which Drug Causes the Most Overdose Deaths?
While the number of fatal drug overdoses has finally started to decline slightly after years of dramatic increases, the sad truth is that it’s still a significant problem in communities across the country. If you’re wondering what is the drug most people overdose on, opioids are still involved with the vast majority of fatal overdoses, especially illicit versions of fentanyl, a powerful opioid that’s cheap to make and extremely potent.
Let’s explore how drug overdose deaths have changed in America in recent years, as well as look at the importance of getting professional help from Florida drug detox and drug rehab programs that can help people overcome addiction before they become a part of these grim statistics.
Table of contents
» How Do Different Drugs Affect the Body During an Overdose?
» Why Have Overdose Death Rates Increased in Recent Years?
» Do People Overdose More Often on Illegal Drugs or Prescription Medications?
» Can Addiction Treatment Reduce the Risk of Overdose Deaths?
» Key Takeaways on What Is the Drug Most People Overdose On
» Resources
How Do Different Drugs Affect the Body During an Overdose?
The truth is that it’s possible to overdose on many different substances, including drugs or medications that are normally considered to be safe when taken as directed or only used sparingly. Even something as common as acetaminophen, a popular over-the-counter pain reliever and fever reducer, can cause liver failure and death in large doses.
Here are some ways that different drugs affect the body during an overdose:
- Alcohol: If someone consumes too much alcohol to the point where they have a high amount of alcohol in their bloodstream, it can shut down parts of the brain that control vital things like breathing, heartbeat, and body temperature. An alcohol overdose can cause severe organ damage, brain damage, and death.
- Stimulants: An overdose of stimulants, whether it’s a legal prescription like an attention-deficit/hyperactivity medication or an illegal drug like methamphetamine or cocaine, can quickly become fatal. Why? Stimulants stimulate the central nervous system, which can lead to dangerously high heart rate, irregular breathing, tremors, and death.
- Depressants: Much like alcohol, a high dose of depressants like benzodiazepines, sedatives, or barbiturates can slow the central nervous system down too much – leading to slowed or stopped breathing, slow heart rate, brain damage, coma, and death.
- Opioids: Opioids are a specific kind of central nervous system depressant, so it shouldn’t be surprising that the way they affect the body during an overdose will be very similar to other depressants. This includes slowed or stopped breathing, brain and organ damage, unconsciousness, coma, and death. The brain can start to suffer severe damage just three to five minutes after losing its oxygen supply, so this medical emergency can happen very quickly. Still, it’s usually preceded by several minutes or even hours of them slowing down breathing before they stop breathing entirely. Opioid-reversal medications like naloxone can save lives by preventing an overdose from reaching this critical point of no return.
Why Have Overdose Death Rates Increased in Recent Years?
In the United States, drug overdoses have become a leading cause of death across many age groups. In 2009, the country recorded an age-adjusted drug overdose death rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people. That number jumped to 21.6 per 100,000 by 2019, with men far more likely to experience a drug overdose death (29.6 per 100,000) than women (13.7 per 100,000).
Sadly, this meant that 70,630 people died from a drug overdose in 2019, up 4.8 percent from 2018. A shocking 70.6 percent of all drug overdose deaths in 2019 involved some form of the list of opioids from strongest to weakest, meaning opioids are clearly the answer to the question of what is the drug most people overdose on. The only age group that didn’t have a drug overdose death rate increase between 2009 and 2019 was those 85 and older.
The reason why overdose rates have soared in recent years is primarily due to the ongoing opioid epidemic. An estimated 806,000 people died due to an opioid overdose between 1999 and 2023, and the death count got much worse in just the past decade due to significant changes in the availability of certain kinds of opioids in the medical system and on the black market.
In total, more than 1.25 million Americans have died from a drug overdose since 1999–76 percent of them involving opioids, compared to 33 percent involving psychostimulants, 28 percent involving cocaine, and 4 percent involving heroin.
While the problem at first was primarily the overprescription and intentional misuse of prescription opioids like oxycodone starting in the 1990s, the opioid epidemic shifted around 2010, with a big jump in heroin-related overdose deaths. That shifted again in 2013 with the rise of synthetic opioids, especially illegally manufactured and unregulated fentanyl, which became a common additive to other illegal drugs as a cheap and easy-to-make booster.
As people took what they thought were other drugs, such as benzodiazepines or stimulants, they often would also unintentionally be taking a dangerous amount of fentanyl, leading to a dramatic rise in the overall number of drug overdose deaths each year.
The latest trends in numbers show a newer pattern: Today, many overdose deaths involving opioids also involve some other kind of drug, such as stimulants or sedatives.
Do People Overdose More Often on Illegal Drugs or Prescription Medications?
If you’re wondering what is the drug most people overdose on, opioids are the first place to examine since they account for the vast majority of drug overdose deaths. But are people overdosing more often on prescription opioids, such as painkillers, or illegal drugs, like heroin or illicit fentanyl? That answer, too, is easy to determine based on the statistics: Illegal drugs are by far the bigger threat.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in 2023:
- 13,026 overdose deaths involved prescription opioids.
- 3,984 overdose deaths involved heroin.
- 72,776 overdose deaths involved synthetic opioids other than methadone (the vast majority of which is illicit fentanyl).
- In total, 79,358 fatal drug overdoses in 2023 involved some form of opioid.
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Can Addiction Treatment Reduce the Risk of Overdose Deaths?
While overdose deaths remain a leading cause of mortality in the United States, the good news is that these deaths aren’t inevitable, and the right evidence-based addiction treatment programs can literally save lives.
The effectiveness of long-term drug rehab, medically supervised detox programs, and other addiction treatment options is widely proven in statistics, and even people who have struggled with addiction for decades have learned how to embrace a healthier, happier future in long-term recovery with the right treatment program.
Key Takeaways on What Is the Drug Most People Overdose On
- Drug overdose deaths have surged in recent decades, becoming a leading cause of mortality across many age groups in America.
- An estimated 1.25 million Americans have died from a drug overdose since 1999.
- It’s possible to fatally overdose on many different drugs, even common substances like alcohol or acetaminophen.
- What is the drug most people overdose on? Opioids, especially synthetic opioids like illicit fentanyl.
- In 2023, 72,776 overdose deaths involved synthetic opioids other than methadone – most often, fentanyl.
If you or someone you love is struggling with drug addiction, you’re playing a dangerous game that can all too easily lead to a fatal drug overdose. WhiteSands Treatment Center can help prevent you from becoming part of this grim national statistic with effective, compassionate addiction and drug rehab programs that have helped many others achieve long-lasting recovery. Call us at 877-855-3470 today to get started on the road to your better future.
Resources
- National Institute on Drug Abuse – Drug Overdose Deaths: Facts and Figures
- National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics – Drug Overdose Death Rates
- National Harm Reduction Coalition – Opioid Overdose Basics
- National Center for Health Statistics – Drug Overdose Deaths
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Overdose Prevention
If you or a loved one needs help with abuse and/or treatment, please call the WhiteSands Treatment at (877) 855-3470. Our addiction specialists can assess your recovery needs and help you get the addiction treatment that provides the best chance for your long-term recovery.
About the Author
Jackie has been involved in the substance abuse and addiction treatment sector for over five years and this is something that she is truly eager about. She has a passion for writing and continuously works to create informative pieces that not only educate and inform the public about the disease of addiction but also provide solutions for those who struggle with drug and alcohol abuse.
