The Overdose Crisis among U.S. Adolescents

This article highlights the sharp and alarming rise in adolescent drug overdose deaths in the U.S. since 2019 despite declining drug use among teens. Driven primarily by illicit fentanyl in counterfeit pills, overdose mortality has more than doubled, reaching 5.2 deaths per 100,000 adolescents in 2022. Many victims lacked a diagnosis of opioid use disorder and often unknowingly consumed fentanyl-laced substances. The article urges a multi-pronged response: fentanyl education, harm-reduction tools such as naloxone, destigmatized mental health care, and low-barrier addiction treatment for youth. It advocates for leveraging schools, clinicians, and social media influencers to reach teens, and underscores disparities particularly among American Indian and Alaska Native adolescents requiring culturally specific interventions. Without timely, targeted, and youth-driven public health strategies, the overdose crisis will continue to claim young lives.

This article highlights the sharp and alarming rise in adolescent drug overdose deaths in the U.S. since 2019 despite declining drug use among teens. Driven primarily by illicit fentanyl in counterfeit pills, overdose mortality has more than doubled, reaching 5.2 deaths per 100,000 adolescents in 2022. Many victims lacked a diagnosis of opioid use disorder and often unknowingly consumed fentanyl-laced substances. The article urges a multi-pronged response: fentanyl education, harm-reduction tools such as naloxone, destigmatized mental health care, and low-barrier addiction treatment for youth. It advocates for leveraging schools, clinicians, and social media influencers to reach teens, and underscores disparities particularly among American Indian and Alaska Native adolescents requiring culturally specific interventions. Without timely, targeted, and youth-driven public health strategies, the overdose crisis will continue to claim young lives.