Map Shows States With the Highest Drug Deaths

Drug overdoses are one of the leading causes of injury death in adults, and they have risen in the United States over the past several decades.
Thousands of pounds of narcotics enter the U.S. every year, as the country is engulfed in an epidemic amid the ongoing war on drugs.
Using data obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Newsweek has created a map that shows the states with the highest drug deaths in the U.S.
According to data gathered by the CDC, 107,941 people died from a drug overdose in 2022. The data showed significant disparities in drug overdose mortality rates across the United States.
West Virginia had the highest rate of drug overdose deaths, followed by Washington, D.C., and Tennessee.
West Virginia has some of the highest drug overdose death rates in the U.S. because of a combination of factors, including economic distress, high rates of opioid prescriptions, and limited access to health care and addiction treatment services.
Delaware and Louisiana rounded out the top five states in the country with the most overdose deaths per 100,000.
These states reported death rates well above the national average, highlighting the ongoing public health crisis fueled by opioid abuse and other substances.
On the other end of the spectrum, states with the lowest number of overdose deaths per 100,000—including South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa—often have better access to treatment and prevention programs.
A CDC spokesperson told Newsweek, “There is no evidence that state residence alone influences whether someone will use or misuse drugs; however, there are differences in drug overdose death rates across states.”
“Differences in overdose death rates can reflect differences in the drug supply, for example, exposure to more or less potent drugs, differences in access to harm reduction services, and any number of other factors that might vary across and within states,” they continued.
Terri Beth Miller, a senior editor at Rehab.com, told Newsweek, “There is some evidence of regional differences in substance misuse patterns.”
She continued: “For example, opioid dependency appears to be most prevalent in southern states, including West Virginia, Kentucky and Alabama. The prevalence of cocaine misuse is highest in the southwest, including Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada. Conversely, the Midwest and northern Rockies report the highest rates of binge drinking.
“The exact cause of these regional differences is not yet clearly understood. However, substance misuse patterns may be influenced by a host of factors, including access, socioeconomic influences and social norms.
“While no state is immune to the epidemic of drug abuse in the U.S., some states appear to be more impacted than others. Overall, the South appears to be disproportionately impacted by the addiction epidemic, with Tennessee, South Carolina and Louisiana exhibiting the highest rates of substance misuse and dependency in the nation.”
The CDC spokesperson mentioned things that can be done to prevent both fatal and nonfatal overdoses: “Preventing drug use initiation, linking people with substance use disorders to evidence-based treatment such as medications for opioid use disorder.
“Educating and training people who use drugs as well as their friends and family members to recognize signs and symptoms of overdose and how to effectively respond to an overdose.
“Promoting the importance of not using drugs while alone and highlighting the dangers of using pills that have not been prescribed because they might be counterfeit and contain drugs other than what they appear to contain.”
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