"● In 2022, 107,941 drug overdose deaths occurred, resulting in an age-adjusted rate of 32.6 deaths per 100,000 standard population (Figure 1).

"● Overall, the age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths nearly quadrupled from 8.2 in 2002 to 32.6 in 2022; however, the rate did not significantly change between 2021 (32.4) and 2022 (32.6).

"● Between 2021 and 2022, the age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths for males increased 1.1% from 45.1 to 45.6, while the rate for females decreased 1.0% from 19.6 to 19.4, although this decrease was not significant. 
 

"This study presents an independent, laboratory-based assessment of the potential of the first commercially available NTS for drug checking applications. The NTS displayed limited lot-to-lot variability, with an experimental limit of detection for isotonitazene of 2000 or 3000 ng/mL. Twenty-four of the 33 evaluated nitazene analogues cross-reacted with the NTS at concentrations at or below 9000 ng/mL. The test strips consistently detected the presence of a nitazene analogue in 6 authentic drug samples.

"• The global burden of disease and injuries caused by alcohol consumption can be quantified for 31 health conditions on the basis of the available scientific evidence for the role of alcohol use in their development, occurrence and outcomes.

"• Worldwide, 2.6 million deaths were attributable to alcohol consumption in 2019, representing 4.7% of all deaths in that year.

"• The alcohol-attributable disease burden is heaviest among males: 2 million alcohol-attributable deaths and 6.9% of all DALYs among males and 0.6 million deaths and 2.0% of all DALYs among females in 2019.

"Use of hallucinogens in the past 12 months was similar for college and noncollege young adults (7.5% vs. 10.8%) in 2023. There were also no significant differences for past 12 month use of LSD (1.8% vs. 2.3%), hallucinogens other than LSD (7.4% vs. 10.4%), MDMA (ecstasy, Molly; 0.3% vs. 1.2%), and ketamine (1.8% vs. 0.9%; Table/Figure 96)."

"Among people aged 12 or older in 2023, 0.3 percent (or 828,000 people) misused fentanyl in the past year, including 0.2 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 17, 0.3 percent of young adults aged 18 to 25, and 0.3 percent of adults aged 26 or older (Table A.12B). Corresponding estimated numbers of people who misused fentanyl in the past year were 50,000 adolescents aged 12 to 17, 110,000 young adults aged 18 to 25, and 668,000 adults aged 26 or older.

"● The age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths involving cocaine increased slightly from 1.6 deaths per 100,000 standard population in 2002 to 2.5 in 2006, decreased to 1.3 in 2010, then increased to 8.2 in 2022; the rate in 2022 was 12.3% higher than the rate in 2021 (7.3) (Figure 5).

"● The age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths involving psychostimulants with abuse potential (subsequently, psychostimulants), which includes methamphetamine, amphetamine, and methylphenidate, was 4.0% higher in 2022 than the rate in 2021 (10.4 compared with 10.0).

"In general, synthetic cathinones are classified as stimulants or amphetamine-type stimulants [109, 110]. However, the pharmacological effects of individual derivatives are strictly dependent on the type of substituents and their location, and the differences in pharmacological profiles between individual cathinone derivatives are considerable.

"The NPS phenomenon remains a considerable challenge due to its evolving nature. The range of compounds currently on the drug market is constantly changing, with new and previously unknown substances entering the market every year.

"The phenomenon of new psychoactive substances (NPS) is an ongoing problem in modern forensic toxicology. One of the most important groups among NPS are synthetic cathinones, which are derivatives of cathinone, a natural alkaloid found in the shrub Catha edulis.

"Illicit drug use at music festivals has been the subject of Australian public and media attention following the drug-related deaths of six young Australians across two festival seasons in 2019 and 2020 (Lee, 2019), and a further young Australian at a festival in February 2023 (Australian Associated Press, 2023).