A study recently published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence, co-authored by NDEWS researchers Dr. Joseph Palamar, Dr. Nicole Fitzgerald, Dr. Linda Cottler, and NDEWS affiliate Dr. Tom Carr, examined overall and drug-specific associations between county-level fentanyl burden––based on seizures of fentanyl in pills and powder, pills-only, or powder only––and county-level fatal drug overdoses in the US from 2013 to 2020. The results showed that counties with a high burden of pill or powder fentanyl seizures, or both, exhibited higher total overdose mortality than non-high-burden counties. A similar pattern of associations with fentanyl seizure/burden was noted for overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids.