Drug overdose due to the misuse and abuse of opioids has always been one of the most often causes of deaths in the United States of America. Just a few days ago, it was found out that the death rate for drug overdose in the United States has hit all time high.
In a set of data recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the year of 2014 recorded the most number of drug overdose deaths. With over 47,000 victims, the rate increased approximately 14 percent compared to 2013, while since 2000 the rate has increased a whopping 137 percent. Some of the states that have the highest amount of deaths from drug overdose are West Virginia, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Kentucky and Ohio.
Among these deaths, over 61 percent includes opioid drugs such as pain killers and prescription meds. These also include heroin that has long time been associated with drug overdose deaths, and over the course of 4 years, the number of its victims rose four times higher.
Meanwhile, the involvement of synthetic opioids in these deaths has increased to 80 percent. And according to the reports submitted by CDC, these numbers may have coincided with the government's recent fight on illicitly manufactured fentanyl, which in the past few months has claimed countless lives.
According to Rose Rudd, a member of CDC, these findings showed that the opioid epidemic in the country is still getting worse, while the organization's director Dr. Tom Frieden commented that the increasing number of deaths can now be considered as very alarming. He also stated that this result shows how much opioid overdose affects American families and communities.
Dr. Frieden also persuaded people to help in stopping the rising drug overdose trend by spreading information about these deadly opioids, providing support and, most importantly, treatment to those who are already suffering from opioid use disorders. Aside from that, he also said that these reports show just how much the law enforcement needs to intensify its efforts on minimizing the amount of sources of illegal heroin, fentanyl and other illegally distributed opioids.
