Monnat Quoted in BBC Article on US Drug Overdose Deaths

November 18, 2021

BBC

Shannon Monnat

Aging Studies Institute

Center for Policy Research

Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health

Addiction

COVID-19

Health Policy

United States

BBC

Shannon Monnat

More than 100,000 Americans have died of drug overdoses over a year-long period during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the highest yearly death toll from drugs ever recorded in the U.S. "Even after COVID is over, overdoses will likely continue to increase. We have to attack this crisis from multiple angles," says Shannon Monnat, associate professor of sociology and Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion. "But beyond this, we need to recognize that the increase in drug use disorders over the past 20 to 30 years is a symptom of much larger social and economic problems," she says. Read more in the BBC article, "US annual drug overdose deaths hit record levels."