Alaska’s Health Department released the latest findings on drug overdose deaths, which remains a significant contributor to mortality, especially in men, Alaska Natives and those ages 35 to 44 years.
The new Drug Overdose Mortality report covers 2022, and contains information about the characteristics of overdose victims, including sex, race, age, where deaths occur, the types of drugs and multidrug combinations involved in fatal overdoses, and prevention strategies and resources to help reduce deaths.
“Alaska continues to experience high rates of drug overdose deaths, many of which involve fentanyl,” the report states,” adding that naloxone, “when given in time,” can “reverse an overdose from opioids—including heroin, fentanyl, and prescription opioid medications.”
Below are key findings for the 2022 update:
— There were 247 fatal drug overdoses in Alaska, down from 255 in 2021, but still the second highest number ever recorded.
— The statewide overdose death rate (which represents deaths per 100,000 Alaskans, adjusted for differences in age) was 33.5 deaths per 100,000 people, down from 35.1 in 2021, but significantly higher than the 14 deaths per 100,000 recorded in pre-Covid 2018.
— Overdose death rates were highest among men (a record 42.4 deaths per 100,000, compared to 24.1 per 100,000 for women), American Indian/Alaska Native people (78.2 deaths per 100,000), people aged 35-44 years old (64.7 deaths per 100,000), and people located in the Anchorage region (48.0 deaths per 100,000).
— Opioids were involved in 75% of fatal overdoses (185 deaths). This includes 151 deaths involving fentanyl or a similar chemical.
— Psychostimulants (drugs that stimulate the central nervous system) were involved in 57% of fatal overdoses (140 deaths). This includes 127 deaths involving methamphetamine.
— Between 2018 and 2022, 58% of fatal overdoses involved two or more different narcotic (numbing/pain relief), sedative (sleep/muscle relaxant), or psychotropic (neural/behavioral) drugs in combination. Synthetic narcotics plus psychostimulants (e.g., fentanyl plus methamphetamine) was the most common fatal multidrug combination.
Click this link to read the full report.
6 Comments
Maybe it went down because of jail among millennials and genX as well as the addicts are dying, while GenZ could be staying away from drugs like GenZ members have told me a lot their generation don’t take drugs.
So, men who should be in the prime of their earning capability are, instead, shooting up dangerous narcotics and littering the street with their corpses. Tell me again how we must respect their freedom and not lock them up, dry them out, and get them on the right path.
On Monday morning around 8:40am, I noticed two groups of people waiting around outside all over Anchorage: kids waiting to be picked up and dropped off at public schools, and adult men waiting around in line outside the pot shops.
Keep an extra string of pearls in case the first snaps by too much clutching.
I guess if all these people die we won’t be supporting their habits anylonger. Nobody is twisting their arm to take the drugs. It’s there own decisions so I can’t see why our state should pay to keep people alive that want to escape from life. Let them pass to a better life.
These are confusing times for young men to navigate! We can be critic, judge and jury, about these wasted lives, go ahead, full on! I would also request you to consider the hopelessness derived from watching a society holding no one accountable for the wickedness occurring particularly from our leaders! One of many actions I will comment on is Anthony Fauci. By far he has now become a notorious murderous individual who will never see justice for his crimes! Locally we have those same types of leaders among us as in Anne Zinc and Mike Dunleavy. Could it be that those who are self destructing are cynical because of what they see as well, and have given up hope?
Don’t be too quick to think this isn’t a possibility!