Co-Involvement of Opioids in Drug Overdose Deaths involving Cocaine and Psychostimulants, 2011-2021

NCHS released a new report, “Co-Involvement of Opioids in Drug Overdose Deaths involving Cocaine and Psychostimulants, 2011-2021,” that provides trends from 2011 through 2021 in death rates involving cocaine and rates involving psychostimulants, with and without opioid co-involvement, as well as by census region in 2021.

Findings:

• Drug overdose death rates involving cocaine nearly quintupled, from 1.5 per 100,000 in 2011 to 7.3 in 2021.
• In 2021, 78.6% of drug overdose deaths involving cocaine also involved an opioid.
  • In 2021, drug overdose death rates involving both cocaine and opioids was 7.3 times the rate in 2011 (5.9 compared with 0.8).
  • The 2021 rate of overdose deaths involving cocaine without opioid co-involvement was more than twice the rate in 2011 (1.5 compared with 0.7).
• In 2021, the percentage of drug overdose deaths involving cocaine that also involved opioids was highest in the Northeast (84.5%) and lowest in the West (73.4%).
• Drug overdose death rates involving psychostimulants increased 14.3 times, from 0.7 per 100,000 in 2011 to 10.0 in 2021.
  • The rate increased 34.4% in the most year studied, from 7.5 in 2020 to 10.0 in 2021.

• In 2021, 65.7% of drug overdose deaths involving psychostimulants also involved an opioid.
  • Drug overdose death rates involving both psychostimulants and opioids increased from 0.3 per 100,000 in 2011 to 6.7 in 2021.
  • The rate of overdose deaths involving psychostimulants without opioid involvement increased from 0.5 in 2011 to 3.3 in 2021.
• In 2021, the percentage of drug overdose deaths involving psychostimulants that also involved opioids was highest in the Northeast (80.6%) and lowest in the West (57.5%).