Not Just A Statistic
Since 1999, the number of Americans who have died from overdoses per year has tripled.
Many blame pharmaceutical industry irresponsibly prescribing opioids for this problem. Others blame poor government regulation. The truth is many factors (included these two) have created a perfect storm that results in the rise of overdose deaths. The United States is currently facing an epidemic, and it’s only getting worse.
The chart above shows the total number of overdose deaths per year since 1999. The death count was under 20,000 at the turn of the century. In 2016, is was nearing 70,000.
Opioids are a leading cause of overdose deaths, and have steadily risen with overdose death tools.
The rise of opioid deaths as whole follows the path of rising overdose deaths, but since 2010, heroin overdoses alone has been on it’s own spike.
As more people are overdosing on heroin, others are turning to synthetic narcotics, like fentanyl, a cheaper, but just as deadly option.
Overdoses due to a combination of heroin and synthetic drugs like fentanyl, were relatively unheard of before 2013, but saw over 6,000 cases in 2016 alone.
To look at the rise in overdoses in just the past two years, it helps to look regional.
The Northeast of the country is a region being hit particularly hard by this epidemic.
The map above depicts what percentage of deaths from each state in the Northeast of the United States (as well as Washington, DC and New York City) involved a drug overdose. This was the total count from the start of 2015, to May of 2017, but the death percentage has been rising since then.
Massachusetts alone saw a 1.3% rise in just over two year.
Pennsylvania saw an 1.81% rise, and the number has been rising since.
Washington, DC saw a 3.59% rise. Since mid 2017, more than five out of every one hundred deaths involved an overdose.
These numbers continue to rise.
The latest statistic on this issue show only up to May 2017, but there is no sign that this epidemic is getting better. Steps need to be taken as a country to remedy this tragedy that is effect nearly every house hold. It is true that the pharmaceutical industry needs to be responsible with their advertising and prescribed. It is true that we need to reform the way we regulate and police opioid and improve treatment. These things can’t happen until a first and vital step is taken: the first step to recovering as a country is realizing we have a problem.
