Top 10 US States with Drug Overdose Deaths
Each of the top 10 states for drug overdoses per age-adjusted rate is outlined in this article. Specifics are included on how each state factors into the high number of overdose deaths plaguing the country and what they are doing to combat the epidemic.
Top 10 US States with Drug Overdose Deaths
West Virginia: 41.5
New Hampshire: 34.3
Kentucky: 29.9
Ohio: 29.9
Rhode Island: 28.2
Pennsylvania: 26.3
West Virginia Public Broadcasting reports that 818 people died of a drug overdose in West Virginia in 2016, and close to 90 percent of these deaths involved at least one opioid drug. This is an increase over previous years and equates to roughly one West Virginian dying by drug overdose every 10 hours, the Times West Virginia reports.
A relatively small state with a population of around 1.8 million, as published by the United States Census Bureau, that high number of overdose deaths has a significant impact. Aware of the toll drug overdoses are taking on the community and population of West Virginia, President Obama announced an administrative action in 2016 that allotted $1.7 million in federal funds to community substance abuse treatment centers in West Virginia in an attempt to expand access to treatment to its citizens, per West Virginia Public Broadcasting. By improving treatment and prevention methods, the overdose rates may be able to be slowed.
West Virginia already has a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PMDP) in place that regulates prescribing healthcare providers in order to ensure that drugs are being distributed safely. West Virginia also has laws in place that allow naloxone, an opioid antagonist and overdose reversal drug, to be prescribed to people who need it. Increased access to this rescue drug may help to reverse overdoses and prevent deaths.
In February 2017, Senate Bill 418 was introduced, which is a comprehensive plan laid out by legislators to improve public health by addressing the opioid and substance abuse and overdose crisis plaguing the state. SB 418 would establish an Office of Drug Control Policy (ODCP) that would compile data, promote research, and enact pilot programs for prevention and treatment of substance abuse and overdoses. The bill also states that “harm reduction” programs, or needle exchange programs, be set up across the state.
In March 2017, the “West Virginia Drug Overdose Monitoring Act,” or HB 2620, was enacted, proving a centralized data collection site, the Parkersburg News and Sentinel publishes. The data collected may be used for research purposes, which can then help state officials apply for federal grant money to help lower drug overdose rates in West Virginia.
