Overdose nation: Deadly drug overdoses by state

In Colorado, the state’s overall drug-overdose death rate per 100,000 residents rose 38% from 2019 to 2020. From 2019 to 2020, Oregon’s drug-overdose death rate per 100,000 residents rose 34%. When the number of deaths is small, rankings by state may be unreliable due to instability in death rates. Drug overdose deaths reached 93,331 in 2020 – the highest number ever recorded.

From 2019 to 2020 in Illinois, the state’s drug-overdose death rate rose 28% per 100,000 residents. Prescription opioids were the main driver of overdose deaths in Utah in 2017. Drug overdose deaths increased by 21% in New Jersey from 2014 to 2015.

Rhode Island

Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. The Supreme Court ruled that police, like this officer in Louisiana, could legally use drug-sniffing dogs at traffic stops. This is a look at Massachusetts’ so-called “Methadone Mile,” a stretch of Boston that’s been described as “the epicenter of the city’s opioid crisis.” In St. Johnsbury, Vermont, a 23-year-old injects suboxone, an opioid that is sometimes prescribed to help recovering addicts cope with symptoms of heroin withdrawal. Here, a New Hampshire firefighter helps a man who overdosed on heroin.

The figures above are bar charts showing the number of U.S. overdose deaths involving select prescription and illicit drugs from 1999 through 2020. The bars are overlaid by lines representing gender or concurrent opioid involvement. There eco sober house price were 91,799 drug-involved overdose deaths reported in the U.S. in 2020 ; 69% of cases occurred among males . Synthetic opioids other than methadone were the main driver of drug overdose deaths with a 6-fold increase from 2015 to 2020 .

Now, chemists analyze the substances in a lab to determine their contents. While Wisconsin holds steady in its ranking in this countdown, its drug-overdose death rate per 100,000 residents surged 31% from 2019 to 2020. From 2019 to 2020, Alaska’s drug-overdose death rate per 100,000 residents increased 24%. From 2019 to 2020, California’s drug-overdose death rate per 100,000 residents skyrocketed 45%. In all, California lost 8,908 people to fatal overdoses in 2020 — the biggest number posted by any state. Despite falling in these rankings , the state’s drug-overdose death rate per 100,000 residents increased about 15% from 2019 to 2020.

South Dakota

Michigan officials speak to reporters after announcing a new state opioid unit in 2017. An Illinois firefighter treats an overdose victim as she is transported to a hospital. An Alexandria, Virginia, man holds a photo of his nephew, who died in 2019 after overdosing on fentanyl. A dog trains to aid the Department of Homeland Security in detecting drugs along the U.S.-Canadian border. In 2017, the state of Alaska sued Purdue Pharma, the maker of the opioid OxyContin.

Deaths involving benzodiazepines or antidepressants are mainly driven by those also involving opioids. Similar data related to nonfatal drug overdoses are reported through CDC’s Drug Overdose Surveillance and Epidemiology system. In North Dakota, the majority of drug overdose deaths in 2017 involved an opioid. Rhode Island had the fifth-highest rate of drug overdose deaths in 2015. Since 2014, the number of deaths involving psychostimulants have risen significantly each year, with 23,837 deaths in 2020.

Working Together to Combat the Overdose Crisis

From 2019 to 2020, Vermont’s drug-overdose death rate rose by about nine fatalities per 100,000 residents. In the state, the drug-overdose death rate increased by nearly 20% per 100,000 residents from 2019 to 2020. In Montana, from 2019 to 2020, the drug-overdose death rate rose by 1.5 fatalities per 100,000 residents. People without health insurance, or who were incarcerated, or who are living in poverty are at increased risk of fatal opioid overdose. An average of 2 Virginians dies every day from a prescription opioid or heroin overdose.

U.S. Marine Cpl. Robert Richards was buried at Arlington National Cemetery after he reportedly died of an accidental overdose in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Paul Connell, CEO of a methadone clinic in Rossville, Georgia, shows one liquid dose of methadone, which is used to treat opioid addiction. Community leaders of the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming hang posters warning against the dangers of drugs such as meth.

One out of every 66 deaths in Missouri were due to opioid overdose in 2016. In 2016, there were 186 prescription opioid-related deaths in Minnesota. In 2017, there were 711 prescription-related opioid deaths in Maryland ‒ a rate double the national average. 66 of 75 Arkansas counties had opioid prescribing rates higher than the national average in 2016. Alaska’s governor declared opioid abuse a public health emergency in 2017.

North Carolina’s drug-overdose death rate surged from 2019 to 2020, increasing by nearly nine deaths per 100,000 residents. From 2019 to 2020, Michigan saw its drug-overdose death rate increase 17% per 100,000 residents. Here, protesters rally outside of then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office in New York City in 2019.

Trends in U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths (1999 –

In 2022, Purdue reached a nationwide settlement over its role in the opioid crisis. In 2009, 18 people were arrested in connection with what, at the time, was considered Mississippi’s largest meth distribution ring. This woman is one of many Cherokee people in Oklahoma to test positive for hepatitis C as a consequence of drug use. In Pratt, Kansas, a deputy sheriff holds holds two bags of methamphetamine. This recovering meth addict said he had to move more than 150 miles from his home to receive treatment. Former meth user Jeremy Bucholz speaks to South Dakota students about the addictive drug.

• There were 91,799 drug-involved overdose deaths reported in the U.S. in 2020 ; 69% of cases occurred among males .
• In 2017, the state of Alaska sued Purdue Pharma, the maker of the opioid OxyContin.
• From 1999 to 2016, more than 12,000 North Carolinians died from opioid-related overdoses, the majority of which were unintentional overdoses.
• Former meth user Jeremy Bucholz speaks to South Dakota students about the addictive drug.

Cocaine too, has increased steadily since 2014 with 19,447 deaths reported in 2020 . The NCHS also has 12 month-ending provisional data available by state and drug category. From 2019 to 2020, Maine’s drug-overdose death rate increased by nearly 10 fatalities per 100,000 residents. In Washington state, the drug-overdose death rate increased by about six fatalities per 100,000 residents from 2019 to 2020. In 2020, South Dakota had the fewest drug overdoses per capita in the United States. The state’s drug-overdose death rate per 100,000 residents decreased slightly from 2019.

Previously ranked ninth in this countdown, New Hampshire saw its drug-overdose death rate dip 5% from 2019 to 2020. Then-Speaker of the House Paul Ryan holds a photo of a Wisconsin family whose son overcame addiction to prescription drugs. From 2019 to 2020, New York’s drug-overdose death rate per 100,000 residents climbed 40%.

Evidence-Based Treatment

The Centers for Disease Control and Preventionpublishes annual dataon drug-overdose death rates in every U.S. state. West Virginia has the highest drug overdose death rate of any state, according to the most recent data available from the CDC. In 2019, non-Hispanic American Indians or Alaska Natives had a higher drug overdose death rate than any other racial or ethnic group . As the overdose crisis continues to change, we must take a pragmatic, evidence-based approach to saving lives, reducing risk, and removing barriers to effective interventions. This requires that we provide care and services that respect the health and dignity of people who use drugs.

In the state, the drug-overdose death rate per 100,000 residents increased 23% from 2019 to 2020. From 2019 to 2020 in Kansas, the state’s drug-overdose death rate per 100,000 residents increased 22%. From 2019 to 2020 in North Dakota, the state’s drug-overdose death rate per 100,000 residents increased about 11%. In Iowa, from 2019 to 2020, the drug-overdose death rate per 100,000 residents increased 24%. In 2015, there were 594 opioid-related overdose deaths in South Carolina. From 1999 to 2016, more than 12,000 North Carolinians died from opioid-related overdoses, the majority of which were unintentional overdoses.

Here is a ranking of every state by overdose-related deaths for 2020, the most recent year available.

An average of 3 Oregonians dies each week from a prescription opioid overdose. In 2017, Massachusetts had one of the lowest prescribing rates for opioids https://rehabliving.net/ in the U.S. but still saw 321 prescription-related overdoses. In 2016, 790 people died from opioid overdoses in Arizona, a 74% increase over 4 years.

From 2019 to 2020, the number of deaths involving prescription opioids rose, after remaining steady for two years, to 16,416 . The final two charts show the number of overdose deaths involving benzodiazepines or antidepressants . Benzodiazepines were involved in 12,290 deaths in 2020—a steady decline from the 11,537 deaths in 2017. Deaths involving antidepressants have remained steady since 2014, with 5,597 fatalities reported in 2020.

From 2019 to 2020 in Georgia, the state’s drug-overdose death rate per 100,000 residents surged 37% percent. New Hampshire is among the top five states with the highest rate of opioid-involved deaths. Maine is the fourth highest prescribing state for long-acting and extended-release opioids.