The Stateline reports that a “new analysis of death certificate data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention” shows that fentanyl “and other opioids were involved in nearly three-fourths of all cocaine overdose deaths and an increasing number of methamphetamine deaths.” Further, misuse of cocaine and meth “has increased in recent years, surpassing nonmedical use of opioids, according to an annual survey by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.” The piece adds that “Native Americans and Alaska Natives experienced the highest death rate from meth and the biggest rate increase, according to the CDC.” Christopher Jones, strategy director at the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, said in a phone interview, “Broader awareness of emerging drug threats and how they intersect with the opioid overdose crisis will help public health officials and the health care community better tailor their prevention and response efforts for all the substances and combinations of substances people are using in their community.” The Stateline adds that experts “speculate that an increasing number of drug users may be injecting a mixture of heroin and cocaine, a classic but deadly combination known as a speedball, according to the National Institutes of Health.”

From the news release of the American Association for Justice.