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Hearing reports about the current opioid epidemic has always made me wonder how bad it is compared to the crack and cocaine epidemics in the 1980s and 90s. So I found some graphs with statistics.
Drug Epidemics: Now and Then - the 3rd graph shows the overdose death rates from 1970 to 2005. The rates increased about 700% during that time, while the first 2 graphs show that it continued to increase steeply since then.
Drug Deaths in America Are Rising Faster Than Ever - has a graph showing drug overdose deaths from 1980 to 2016.
Homicide trends in the United States - lots of graphs and statistics about homicides in the U.S. between 1976 and 2005. Homicide rates spiked up during the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and have mostly decreased since then. (Unfortunately, the links in the PDF don't seem to work.)
Crime in the United States (1995–2014) - a table showing reduction in violent crime during that time period.
So in summary, in the 70s, 80s, and 90s there weren't that many overdoses, but were a lot of homicides, many of which were gang and drug-related. Whereas now, there are about half as many homicides, but way more overdose deaths.
Drug Epidemics: Now and Then - the 3rd graph shows the overdose death rates from 1970 to 2005. The rates increased about 700% during that time, while the first 2 graphs show that it continued to increase steeply since then.
Unlike the current opioid epidemic – which has captured our attention due to the number of overdoses – deaths directly associated with crack ingestion were minimal. Overdose deaths associated with crack did increase from the early 80’s to the early 90’s, but the numbers pale in comparison to opioid overdoses today. It was the indirect effects of crack that proved to be so devastating.
...
The consequence was significantly increased homicides, particularly in adolescents. Plus, strict new drug laws plucked inner-city residents from their homes and communities and sent them to jail for many years, making it even more difficult for the families left behind. This also made it hard to integrate back into society following a felony drug charge. Taken together with actual drug overdoses, it’s likely that the crack epidemic cost as many lives if not more than what society is witnessing today with the opioid epidemic.
Drug Deaths in America Are Rising Faster Than Ever - has a graph showing drug overdose deaths from 1980 to 2016.
Homicide trends in the United States - lots of graphs and statistics about homicides in the U.S. between 1976 and 2005. Homicide rates spiked up during the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and have mostly decreased since then. (Unfortunately, the links in the PDF don't seem to work.)
Crime in the United States (1995–2014) - a table showing reduction in violent crime during that time period.
So in summary, in the 70s, 80s, and 90s there weren't that many overdoses, but were a lot of homicides, many of which were gang and drug-related. Whereas now, there are about half as many homicides, but way more overdose deaths.