The ‘fourth wave’ of drug addiction: Surge in meth could bring drug overdose death rates back up

Published January 31, 2020 5:00am ET



A top Trump administration health official is worried that meth-related deaths will counterbalance the progress the United States has made in reducing drug-overdose deaths.

Dr. Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health, said in an interview Thursday that early data from 2019, which goes into June, indicates that meth-related deaths are increasing by about 25-30%. The trend is particularly concerning because meth is highly addictive, and people cannot be treated for meth with medicine in the same way they can for opioid addictions.

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