My reading of this is that this doesn't look like it will be a long term trend if that helps draw any comfort from the report. The author's concluded cause is

My reading of this is that this doesn't look like it will be a long term trend if that helps draw any comfort from the report. The author's concluded cause is that it stems from an explosion of prescription painkiller use in the 90s/0s which was then cut down by tougher state and federal restrictions. Those people who gained a dependency during that time had to switch to illicit means once the legal sources became restricted. With the tougher restrictions in place now, hopefully stopping the system from being fed with more users, it sounds like there will be a peak as the affected population escapes from (or succumbs to) their dependency. Still a tragedy, but thankfully one with an apparent ceiling.