FDA Says Fentanyl Is
the Deadliest Drug in
the United States It's the first time the synthetic has been declared the country's deadliest drug. It takes the top spot from heroin, which had been the worst the past four years. Cocaine and methamphetamine round out the top 4 for the deadliest drugs in 2016, the most recent years for statistics. According to health officials, around
18,000 people overdosed on fentanyl in 2016. From 2013 to 2016, the rate of fatalities due to Fentanyl increased by 113% per year. The FDA adds that the opioid was responsible for 29% of all overdose deaths in 2016, up from just 4% in 2011.
