The new data, published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, underscores the devastating effects of a opioid crisis that is ravaging communities both rich and poor.
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In sheer numbers, California – the most populous state – had the most overdose deaths a year ago, with more than 4,500.
The report also found 14 states that had overdose death increases it deemed “statistically significant” ranging from an 8.3 percent increase in IL to a 125 percent increase in North Dakota.
“The sharp increase in deaths involving synthetic opioids, other than methadone, in 2014 coincided with law enforcement reports of increased availability of illicitly manufactured fentanyl, a synthetic opioid”, the report stated. Overall, deaths occurred most frequently for both sexes from the ages of 25 to 44, and for whites and blacks over 55 years old. In 2014, there were approximately one and a half times more drug overdose deaths in the United States than deaths from motor vehicle crashes.
About 9% of these cases (or an increase of more than 750 deaths) were caused by opioid pain relievers including hydrocodone and oxycodone. The new report, however, suggested that heroin-related death had something to do with the drug’s accessibility. Deaths involving illicitly made fentanyl, a potent opioid often added to or sold as heroin, also are on the upswing. Opioids are involved in 61% of all drug overdose deaths.
“The increasing number of deaths from opioid overdose is alarming”, CDC Director Tom Frieden said in a press release. Most heroin usersinitially start by using prescription painkillers.
Low-priced heroin has become more widely available: Heroin costs about one-fifth as much as most prescription opioids.
Abuse of prescription narcotic painkillers is the biggest risk factor for going on to use heroin – especially among young adults, the CDC found. Since 2000, overdoses from opioids have quadrupled, the report noted. The agency is trying to produce new guidelines that would encourage doctors to prescribe potentially addictive painkillers only as a last resort. This drug has shown to reverse symptoms associated with opioid overdose.
Recommendations in the proposal cover when to initiate or continue opioids for chronic pain; how to select the drugs, dosage and duration; and how to assess the risks of use.
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Programs are also in place to increase the use of naloxone, a fast-acting antidote that may revive a person who has recently overdosed.
