Deaths

Meth deaths have been increasing, and is among the most common drug involved in drug overdose deaths in LAC

Although national attention on the drug overdose epidemic has been focused on opioids, methamphetamines are increasingly associated with a significant proportion of the drug overdose deaths.

From 2003-2023, drug overdose death rates in the US involving psychostimulants such as methamphetamine increased from 0.3 to 10.6 per 100,000 (Garnett, 2024).

Meth Overdose Deaths

More methamphetamine overdose deaths were reported from LAC coroner data than from death certificates.

According to LAC Coroner data, there were 1,869 methamphetamine overdose-related deaths in 2023, a 418% increase from a decade ago, and a 0.7% decrease from the previous year (Figure 1).

In 2023, the methamphetamine overdose age-adjusted death rate per 100,000 population was 17.8, compared to 18.9 for fentanyl overdose and 20.0 for opioid overdose deaths (Figure 2).

According to death certificate data, in 2023, fentanyl (66%) and methamphetamine (56%) were the most common drugs involved in drug overdose deaths in LAC (Figure 3).

Demographics of Meth Overdose Deaths

Demographic differences were observed for meth overdose deaths based on LAC coroner data.

From 2014-2023, methamphetamine overdose deaths occurred most frequently among those aged 45-54 years (25%), followed by those aged 35-44 years (23%), aged 55-64 years (22%), and aged 26-34 years (18%) (Figure 4).  

In 2023, death rates per 100,000 population were highest among those aged 55-64 years (34.4), 35-44 years (33.9), and 45-54 years (32.2) had the highest, followed by those aged 26-34 years (24.2), 18-25 years (8.4), and 65+ years (8.1) (Figures 5-6).

In 2014-2023, males accounted for 79% of all methamphetamine overdose deaths in LAC (Figures 7-8).

The gender disparity widened over the past decade, with the rate of methamphetamine overdose death per 100,000 population among males increasing from over triple (3.1 times) that of females in 2014 to over quadruple (4.2 times) that of females in 2023 (Figure 9).

From 2014-2023, Whites accounted for 43% of LAC overdose deaths involving methamphetamine, while Latinxs comprised 35%, Blacks 18%, and Asian 3% (Figure 10). Throughout 2014-2022, there were consistently more methamphetamine overdose deaths among Whites compared to Latinxs and Blacks. 

In 2023, the number of methamphetamine overdose deaths among Latinxs surpassed that of Whites. While the number of methamphetamine overdose deaths among Latinxs and Blacks continued to increase, that for Whites and Asians decreased from the record highs in the previous year (Figure 11). 

In 2023, the rate of death per 100,000 population was highest among Blacks (r=50.4), followed by Whites (r=25.5), Latinxs (r=14.7), and Asians (r=2.8). The population rates continued to increase for Blacks and Latinxs, while decreasing for Whites and Asians in 2023 compared to the previous year (Figure 12)

Opioid Co-Involvement

In the US in recent years, methamphetamine-related deaths increasingly co-involved opioids, particularly illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF). From 2016-2017, psychostimulant-related deaths that co-involved opioids increased 52%, while those that were independent of opioids increased 23% (Hoots 2019). In 2017, opioids were co-involved in 50% of psychostimulant overdoses (Karissa 2019, Gladden 2019). 

In LAC, methamphetamine overdose deaths co-involving opioids increased gradually from 2014-2019, then jumped in 2020 and continued to rise (Figure 13). Co-involved methamphetamine and opioid overdose deaths accounted for 64% of all methamphetamine overdose deaths in 2023 (up from 28% in 2016), and accounted for 49% of all opioid overdose deaths in 2023 (up from 20% in 2016) (Figure 14).

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics System, Mortality Wide‐ranging online data for epidemiologic research (WONDER). Atlanta, GA: CDC, National Center for Health Statistics; 2024. Available from: http://wonder.cdc.gov

Garnett MF, Miniño AM. Drug overdose deaths in the United States, 2003–2023. NCHS Data Brief, no 522. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2024. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc/170565.

Gladden, R. M., O’Donnell, J., Mattson, C. L., & Seth, P. (2019). Changes in opioid-involved overdose deaths by opioid type and presence of benzodiazepines, cocaine, and methamphetamine—25 states, July–December 2017 to January–June 2018. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 68(34), 737.

Kariisa, M., Scholl, L., Wilson, N., Seth, P., & Hoots, B. (2019). Drug overdose deaths involving cocaine and psychostimulants with abuse potential—United States, 2003–2017. Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 68(17), 388.

Los Angeles County Medical Examiner/Coroner’s Office. Coroner and Toxicology data. Data as of July 2024.