CNN —Drug overdose deaths in the United States increased sharply throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, reaching record levels in 2021. But by 2021, rates among Black men had surpassed those of American Indian men. In 2021, overdose death rates among Black men ages 35 to 64 were higher than any other demographic group. Drug overdose deaths continue to rise, with the CDC’s latest provisional data showing that more than 109,000 people died of a drug overdose in the 12-month period ending March 2022. Relative to state population, rates of overdose deaths were by far the highest in West Virginia, with 83 overdose deaths for every 100,000 residents.

---