Pennsylvania sees spike in overdose deaths

Deaths from drug overdose has reached record high levels in 2014 with 47,055 people died from drug overdoses in America a year ago, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention latest report.

More persons died from drug overdoses in the United States in 2014 than during any previous year on record.

Heroin overdoses in particular have climbed dramatically-more than tripling in the past four years.

“Opioids-primarily prescription pain relievers and heroin-are the main driver of overdose deaths”, the report stated.

“The increasing number of deaths from opioid overdose is alarming”, said CDC Director Tom Frieden in a press release on the report’s findings.

The report warned of a surging opioid “epidemic” that is ripping American families and communities apart.

Over the past year, obituaries spotlighting victims of drug addiction have put faces to these statistics. Of those deaths, there was a 14 percent increase from opioid use overdoses involving painkillers and heroin.

According to the report, rates of drug overdose deaths were highest in five states: West Virginia, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Kentucky and Ohio. “If Aleve or Tylenol or aspirin were effective, we would not have had to have treatment with these drugs”. OH saw an increase of 18.3 percent in its rate from 2013 to 2014, the eighth-highest increase nationwide. Using these drugs results in an increased tolerance to pain and a sense of euphoria. “To curb these trends and save lives, we must help prevent addiction and provide support and treatment to those who suffer from opioid use disorders”, he added.

In light of the data, the CDC is pushing further to decrease the availability of opioids, and is encouraging law enforcement to crack down on possession offenses in that fight.

The spike in deaths has coincided with a rapid rise in the abuse of opioid-based prescription painkillers such as oxycontin and hydrocodone. It’s also the most drug overdoses reported in the United States since 1970.

In addition, some have also proposed expanded availability and wider access to naloxone-an antidote for opioid-related overdoses.

In Michigan, deaths from drug overdose rose 13 percent in 2014 compared to the year prior. Dr. R. Corey Waller, with Spectrum Health who is also a member of the state task force, said one in 100 people is expected to die in this state of an opioid overdose, which is catastrophic. It suggested public health agencies, medical examiners and coroners, and law-enforcement agencies work collaboratively to improve the detection of these outbreaks through improved investigation and testing.