According to the most recent government data, U.S. deaths related to heroin have skyrocketed 533 percent since 2002. Perhaps even more poignantly, drug overdose deaths are expected to surpass 71,000 this year, a significantly higher toll than the Vietnam War which cost just over 58,000 U.S. lives. Most strikingly, however, fatal overdoses related to heroin leapt from 2,089 in 2002 to 13,219 in 2016, an increase of 533 percent. As well as heroin, the overdose epidemic is also being fueled by illicitly manufactured fentanyl. Up to 50 times more potent than heroin, fentanyl is expected to lead to over 20,000 overdoses this year, double the number in 2016.

Source: Forbes September 11, 2017 12:22 UTC