Methamphetamine-related overdose deaths nearly triple over 4 years

U.S. overdose deaths involving psychostimulants other than cocaine, largely methamphetamine, increased 180% among adults under age 65 between 2015 and 2019, to 15,489, according to a study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse published this week in JAMA Psychiatry. The number of people reporting methamphetamine use increased 43% over the period, suggesting that increases in methamphetamine use disorder, frequent use and use of other drugs at the same time may be contributing to the rise in deaths, the authors said.

“What makes these data even more devastating is that currently, there are no approved medications to treat methamphetamine use disorder,” said Emily Einstein, chief of NIDA’s Science Policy Branch and a co-author of the study.