A study published January 3rd, 2020 on JAMA Open Network, of over 1,050,000 unique patient urine drug tests from across all 50 states, shows soaring rates of use of methamphetamines and fentanyl. The study analyzed specimens submitted as part of routine health care Jan.1, 2013 to Oct. 31, 2019. These drugs are often used together in potentially lethal ways.
The results which showed positive for methamphetamine have skyrocketed six-fold, from approximately 1.4% testing positive in 2013 to approximately 8.4% in 2019. Similarly, the Percentage of tests coming back positive for the opioid fentanyl have more than quadrupled since 2013.
During the same time period, the rate at which urine samples testing positive for fentanyl also tested positive for methamphetamine rose almost 14-fold.