A new report from the centers for disease control and prevention sjows Drug overdose deaths have nearly tripled in the U.S. since 1999. whites and middle-aged Americans have been most affected. Over 16 out of every 100,000 Americans died of a drug overdose in 2015, compared to just over 6 in 1999. Heroin and other opioids accounted for about half of these deaths. The report found that drug overdose deaths have risen among whites at a rate of around 7 percent each year. The rates have risen by 2 percent a year for blacks and Hispanics.