Over 110,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2022 alone, with opioids driving the deadliest public health crisis in recent U.S. history. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports a relentless upward trend, now claiming more lives annually than car accidents or gun violence.
Nia Castleman, an addiction treatment expert at St. John of God Health Care Services in California, has witnessed the crisis unfold over 25 years. \"Pharmaceutical companies normalized these drugs as 'safe' painkillers,\" she explains. \"We’re now seeing entire communities devastated by addiction, particularly with illicit fentanyl flooding the streets.\"
At a recovery session hosted by CGTN Stringer, one participant shared: \"I had a family, a career—fentanyl took everything.\" Stories like his underscore the human toll behind the statistics, as synthetic opioids now account for 70% of overdose deaths nationwide.
Reference(s):
Finding True America: From painkiller to America's deadliest drug
cgtn.com
