Wonkbook: Heroin deaths surpass gun homicides for the first time, CDC data shows

By Christopher Ingraham Opioid deaths continued to surge in 2015, surpassing 30,000 for the first time in recent history, according to CDC data released Thursday. That marks an increase of nearly 5,000 deaths from 2014. Deaths involving powerful synthetic opiates, like fentanyl, rose by nearly 75 percent from 2014 to 2015. Heroin deaths spiked too, rising …   The latest economic and domestic policy from Wonkblog   A shopping cart sits in a deserted parking lot in Durango, Colo. on Oct. 11. Pamela Beckert died of an overdose in this lot. (Photo by Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post) By Christopher Ingraham Opioid deaths continued to surge in 2015, surpassing 30,000 for the first time in recent history, according to CDC data released Thursday. That marks an increase of nearly 5,000 deaths from 2014. Deaths involving powerful synthetic opiates, like fentanyl, rose by nearly 75 percent from 2014 to 2015. Heroin deaths spiked too, rising by more than 2,000 cases. For the first time since at least the late 1990s, there were more deaths due to heroin than to traditional opioid painkillers, like hydrocodone and oxycodone. "The epidemic of deaths involving opioids continues to worsen," said CDC Director Tom Frieden in a statement. "Prescription opioid misuse and use of heroin and illicitly manufactured fentanyl are intertwined and deeply troubling problems." Read the rest on Wonkblog. ADVERTISEMENT   Chart of the day White deaths are rapidly outpacing white births in the United States. Jeff Guo has more. Top policy tweets Gary Cohn, Trump's latest Goldman Sachs pick, has shipped thousands of jobs overseas @xeni pic.twitter.com/mZweIbFpDV — Adam Khan (@Khanoisseur) December 9, 2016 In Indiana, Pence & Trump's CMS pick expanded Ocare and pretended they didn't. Could Rs pull same trick w. repeal? https://t.co/IFB1v47XH1 — Philip Klein (@philipaklein) December 9, 2016 The looming tax fight will be an early test of how Trump reconciles his populist image with his policy agenda. https://t.co/tTDlO7V88B — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) December 9, 2016 Most Recent Posts from Wonkblog America's destiny has never been so obvious Donald Trump can't stop America's multiethnic future. By Jeff Guo  •  Read more »   There’s one big mistake everybody makes when giving a gift Researchers have discovered why you give terrible gifts By Ana Swanson  •  Read more »   Why Wall Street still isn’t taking Donald Trump seriously By Max Ehrenfreund  •  Read more »   Heroin deaths surpass gun homicides for the first time, CDC data shows As recently as 2007, gun homicides outnumbered heroin deaths by more than 5 to 1. By Christopher Ingraham  •  Read more »   DEA laments that "media attention” is making it tough to put people in jail for pot It's not clear what "media attention" the Administration is referring to. By Christopher Ingraham  •  Read more »   American Dream collapsing for young adults, study says, as odds plunge that children will earn more than their parents Rising income inequality has eroded the ability for American children to grow up to earn more than their parents, according to groundbreaking new research from a superstar team of economists that carries deep implications for President-elect Donald Trump's policy agenda. By Jim Tankersley  •  Read more » ADVERTISEMENT   Recommended for you   Federal Insider Federal news and policy update, in your inbox daily. Sign Up »         Share Wonkbook:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you signed up for a Wonkblog newsletter. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. Contact us for help. ©2016 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071