More than 40% of Americans know a drug overdose victim, study finds

Published February 22, 2024 at 7:25 AM EST

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Evelyn Jefferson, a crisis outreach supervisor for Lummi Nation, stands at the grave of her son Patrick George Jr., who died last September due to an overdose of street drugs containing the synthetic opioid carfentanil, at the Lummi Nation cemetery on tribal reservation lands, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, near Bellingham, Wash. Jefferson had to wait a week to bury her son due to several other overdose deaths in the community. (Lindsey Wasson/AP)

A new study reveals that more than 40% of Americans know someone who has died of a drug overdose. Many reported that grieving an overdose death impacted their physical or mental health.

We speak with WBUR reporter Martha Bebinger about the findings of that study.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.