Overview

• Experts report pandemic-period surges in drug overdoses and alcohol-related deaths nationwide.
• CDC data show fentanyl-related fatalities climbing sharply, including a more than 150% rise in Oklahoma from 2019 to 2020.
• After two 17-year-olds in Eugene died from suspected counterfeit pills, police warned about fake tablets resembling prescriptions.
• The fentanyl overdose of a Connecticut seventh grader prompted renewed calls to stock the reversal drug Narcan in schools.
• Policy responses evolved, with the CDC proposing to ease 2016 opioid-prescribing limits and the FDA authorizing over-the-counter naloxone.