American deaths from drug overdoses hit record high

The largest increase in narcotic overdose deaths were from synthetic narcotics, not including methadone.

“The impact of prescription drug and opioid abuse is being felt in every community across MI”.

The states which recorded a surge in drug overdose deaths included, Georgial, Maine, Illinois, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Alabama, Maryland, Indiana, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Ohio.

The highest overdose death rates were seen in the states of Kentucky, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, and West Virginia, and West Virginia led all states with an overdose rate of 35.5 per 100,000 compared to a national average of 15 per 100,000. And heroin-related deaths have tripled since 2010.

According to the CDC, the most commonly prescribed opioid pain relievers, those classified as natural or semi-synthetic opioids such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, continue to be involved in more overdose deaths than any other opioid type.

But deaths are on the rise from overdoses of all sorts of drugs, despite efforts to formulate them in ways that make the drugs more hard to abuse.

The report says: “There is a need for continued action to prevent opioid abuse, dependence, and death, improve treatment capacity for opioid use disorders, and reduce the supply of illicit opioids, particularly heroin and illicit fentanyl”.

“These findings indicate that the opioid overdose epidemic is worsening”, the CDC’s Rose Rudd and colleagues wrote in their report.

A map of drug overdose deaths by state (2013 and 2014) is available at http://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/statedeaths.html.

Deaths due to opioid overdoses jumped 14 per cent in just one year.

The CDC has proposed that doctors prescribe the meds only as a last choice for chronic pain, after first trying non-opioid pain relievers, physical therapy and other options.

In sheer numbers, California – the most populous state – had the most overdose deaths a year ago, with more than 4,500.

Meanwhile, 10,574 people died from heroin use in 2014, a 26 percent increase for the year.

Lower heroin prices, wider availability and higher purity are causing more overdoses, the agency reported. That’s up from under two per 1,000 about a decade ago, a 62% increase that translates to hundreds of thousands more people. In addition, some have also proposed expanded availability and wider access to naloxone-an antidote for opioid-related overdoses. Using these drugs results in an increased tolerance to pain and a sense of euphoria.