Stimulant Overdoses Rose With Fentanyl

CDC data for 2016 shows not only that deaths involving synthetic opioids doubled, but that overdose death rates involving cocaine increased 52.4% and psychostimulant deaths also rose, indicating a concurrent spike in stimulant‑involved lethal overdoses. This suggests either increased co‑use or contamination of stimulant supplies with fentanyl and signals a shift from a pure opioid crisis to a polysubstance threat. — Policymakers and harm‑reduction programs must expand surveillance, naloxone distribution, testing, and treatment strategies to cover stimulant‑involved and polysubstance overdoses, not only opioid prescribing and treatment.