A recent report from the bipartisan, nonprofit organization USAFacts shows fentanyl overdose deaths in the Unites States in 2021 were 26 times higher than they were a decade prior.
According to the report, 87.8 percent of all opioid overdose deaths in 2021 were attributed to fentanyl, with West Virginia seeing the highest death-rates in the country. Tennessee and Kentucky were not far behind, with Tennessee seeing the third greatest number of fatal overdoses and Kentucky seeing the fourth. According to a Tuesday release, Kentucky saw a 71 percent increase in overdose deaths from 2019 to 2021 — nearly double the national average.