Teen overdose deaths reach record high in 2022 despite decline in drug use

A new report in the New England Journal of Medicine published on Wednesday shows overdose deaths in US teens hit an all-time high in 2022, with the equivalent of a high school classroom of teens dying every week across the country. Overdoses are now the 3rd leading cause of death in kids under 19 in the US. The bleak record comes even as teen drug use is at its lowest rate in almost 50 years.

Meth, fentanyl overdoses jump substantially

Methamphetamine is killing more Americans and health workers are worried about it. The drug is more popular and more deadly, leaving health officials and police scrambling to limit its spread.