Credit: The Garrett County Republican

Congressman David Trone issued a statement regarding the new preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that show that the United States saw 70,980 deaths from drug overdoses in 2019.

This number represents a new high watermark for overdose deaths and an increase of 4.6% over the number of overdose deaths in 2018. In somewhat better news, Maryland saw a 1.4% decrease in overdose deaths in 2019 when compared to data from 2018.

“For more than a year, I have said that it was too early to declare victory in our fight against the addiction epidemic that is ravaging our country. Sadly, the numbers released today show that this crisis is worse than ever before, and recent reports indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic is making matters much worse,” said Trone, the founder of the Freshmen Working Group on Addiction.

“Congress and the Trump Administration must act with the full force of the federal government to end this crisis. That means examining every facet of the addiction epidemic. We need to ensure those struggling with substance use and mental health disorders have access to the quality and affordable treatment they need to stay safe and healthy. We need to look at prescribing practices that too often leave patients with a mountain of deadly pills. We need to provide steady, consistent, and increased funding to state and local governments so they can design interventions that work for their communities. And, we need to work with countries around the world to stop the flow of drugs into this country.”

“Every day we wait to take further action, nearly 200 more Americans will lose their lives to the addiction epidemic. The time to act is now.”

Trone has made ending the addiction epidemic his top priority as a member of Congress. He founded the Freshmen Working Group on Addiction, a bipartisan group of 60+ members of Congress dedicated to ending the addiction crisis. The group has introduced more than 30 pieces of legislation to address the issue.