The U.S. government does not track death rates for every drug. However, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collects information on deaths involving many of the more commonly used drugs available through 2019 at a searchable database, called CDC Wonder. The NCHS also has 12 month-ending provisional data available by state and drug category.

The NCHS recently reported that drug overdose deaths rose by close to 30% in the United States in 2020, hitting the highest number ever recorded.

More than 93,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2020, according to provisional data released by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. That’s a 29.4% increase from the 72,151 deaths projected for 2019.

In California, more than 9,500 people died from drug overdoses in 2020, up from 6,500 projected in 2019, a 45.9% increase.

“Overdose deaths from synthetic opioids (primarily fentanyl) and psychostimulants such as methamphetamine also increased in 2020 compared to 2019. Cocaine deaths also increased in 2020, as did deaths from natural and semi-synthetic opioids (such as prescription pain medication),” the NCHS said in a statement.

“This is the highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded in a 12-month period, and the largest increase since at least 1999,” Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, said in a statement.

“These data are chilling. The COVID-19 pandemic created a devastating collision of health crises in America,” added Volkow.

As in recent years, inappropriate use of opioids was behind most of the deaths. The NCHS reported that overdose deaths from opioids rose from 50,963 in 2019 to 69,710 in 2020.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday nominated Dr. Rahul Gupta of West Virginia to serve as the administration’s top drug policy official. The former state health commissioner is slated to become the first physician to ever lead the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, or ONDCP, if confirmed by the Senate. If confirmed, he will replace Regina LaBelle, acting director of the ONDCP , who is an Obama administration alum.

Gupta, a primary care doctor, went on to serve as the chief medical and health officer at March of Dimes, a maternal-and-child advocacy group, after his time working in the West Virginia state government.

Gupta received criticism from some drug reform advocates, who expressed disapproval of the closure of a needle exchange program in Charleston, West Virginia, under his leadership.

“Dr. Gupta brings firsthand experience as a medical doctor and public health official using evidence-based strategies to address the overdose epidemic in West Virginia,” the White House said in a statement. “We hope he will be confirmed by the Senate soon.”

Some say this nomination is a signal that government is looking to integrate medical solutions to reduce the national drug problem under Dr. Gupta’s leadership.