The rate of overdose deaths from synthetic opioids other than methadone increased 72.2% in 2015, likely driven primarily by illicitly manufactured fentanyl, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The overdose death rate from methadone fell by 9.1%. The overdose death rate from heroin rose 20.6% in 2015, while the rate from natural and semisynthetic opioids rose 2.6%. Deaths involving heroin and synthetic opioids other than methadone increased across all demographic groups and regions.

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