Despite an increase in overdose deaths, the number of individuals who said drug addiction is a major problem in their community fell by from 45 percent to 37 percent between 2018 and 2021, reports the Pew Research Center.
Additionally, some 44 percent of Americans living in areas where drug overdose death rates climbed by more than the median increase between 2017 and 2020 said drug addiction was a major problem in their community in 2018. That share fell to 38 percent in 2021.
Fatal overdoses continue to climb in all pockets of the country – urban, suburban and rural areas. In 2020, 15,000 more Americans died from drug overdoses than in 2017 – climbing from 70,000 to 92,000 over the three years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In that period, fatal overdoses rose from 21.7 to 28.3 per 100,000 people.
The Pew Research Center report said the reason for the decline in public concern over drug addiction was unclear. But according to some of the center’s surveys, it could be attributed to Americans prioritizing other issues like the economy or the pandemic.
Additional Reading: Canadian Province Decriminalizes Possession of Heroin, Cocaine
James Van Bramer is associate editor of The Crime Report.