During the Vietnam War, the United States Military experienced around 58,000 casualties. This year alone, the number of American lives lost to drug overdoses is expected to reach 71,600, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Tom Price.

In 2002, the number of heroin users was reported to be 404,000. In 2016, that number grew to 948,000—a 135% increase. The number of people who had fatal heroin overdoses jumped from 2,089 in 2002 to 13,219 in 2016—a concerning 533% increase.

Opioid abuse includes legal prescription painkillers as well as illegal drugs. The number of deaths from fentanyl abuse is expected to double within one year, from 9,945 in 2016 to 20,145 in 2017, according to the CDC. The CDC is also seeing an increase in overdose deaths related to cocaine, from 4,000 in 2009 to over 6,700 in 2015.

The rise in overdose abuse isn’t a surprise, said Dr. Andrew Kolodn, executive director for Physicians of Responsible Opioid Prescribing. This trend can only be expected to grow without increased access to medically assisted treatment. He added that overdoses will continue “until it’s easier to access buprenorphine than it is easier to access fentanyl, heroin or prescription pills.”

“As we see more people dying of fentanyl overdoses, you’re going to start seeing other things in their system,” said Kolodny.

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Read the full story at cnn.com