Experts say a large portion of this increase is due to the vast quantities of fentanyl streaming into the US. Among this age group, accidental drug deaths increased by 50% in a single year – taking 7,337 young lives in 2020. But no group has seen a faster rise than youth under 24, according to a Guardian analysis of 2020 federal data. National statistics show a huge surge in drug-related deaths during the pandemic, with fatalities leaping to more than 93,000 in 2020, a 32% rise from 2019. Their tragedies are part of an explosion of drug-related deaths among US high school and college-aged youth, fueled by what experts say is a flood of fentanyl-filled counterfeit pills being sold on social media and sometimes delivered straight to kids’ homes.
