CNBC reports in continuing coverage, “In a report published Tuesday by the bipartisan US Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking, it was revealed that synthetic opioids – primarily fentanyl – were responsible for almost two in three reported drug overdose deaths in the US in the year to June 2021.” The report “estimated that drug overdoses are now costing the US around $1 trillion every year” and “that more than 100,000 people died of drug overdoses in the 12 months to June 2021, an increase of 30% from a year earlier.”

The Hill reports that the report said that the ongoing epidemic poses “a threat to our national security and global competitiveness.” According to the Hill, “The commission’s report calls for the government to streamline data collection and increase prevention resources and access to treatment; develop a central body to review US drug control policies; collaborate with other nations producing synthetic opioids; and disrupt the drug supply through ‘targeted oversight and enforcement.’”

Axios also covers the story.

From the news release of the American Association for Justice.