Opioid abuse — which has spurred a 20-year high in heroin use in the U.S. — has become a significant cause of death nationwide.
The most recent opioid overdose data from 2014, published by the Kaiser Family Foundation, indicates the situation is especially grim in some states, such as Ohio, which led the country in opioid overdoses in 2014. However, the data also shows the problem is not limited to one geographic region — opioid abuse is truly a national public health issue. According to the data, the nation counted 28,647 lives lost to opioid overdoses in 2014, including overdoses from natural, semisynthetic and synthetic opioids, methadone and heroin.
Here is how many total opioid overdose deaths each state and Washington D.C., recorded in 2014, in descending order.
1. Ohio — 2,106
2. California — 2,024
3. New York — 1,739
4. Florida— 1,399
5. Illinois — 1,205
6. Texas — 1,151
7. Massachusetts — 1,140
8. Pennsylvania — 1,092
9. Michigan — 1,052
10. North Carolina — 967
11. Maryland — 921
12. Tennessee — 863
13. Virginia — 758
14. Kentucky — 729
15. New Jersey — 728
16. Georgia — 710
17. Missouri — 696
18. Washington — 673
19. Wisconsin — 627
20. Arizona — 589
21. West Virginia — 554
22. Connecticut — 525
23. Colorado — 517
24. South Carolina — 515
25. Oklahoma — 502
26. Indiana — 462
27. Utah — 455
28. New Mexico — 402
29. Nevada — 375
30. Oregon — 340
31. Minnesota — 318
32. New Hampshire — 297
33. Alabama — 270
34. Louisiana — 260
35. Rhode Island — 205
36. Arkansas — 173
36. Kansas— 173
38. Maine — 171
39. Iowa — 158
40. Delaware — 124
41. Mississippi — 115
42. Idaho — 78
43. Alaska — 76
44. Vermont — 64
45. District of Columbia — 63
46. Hawaii — 59
47. Nebraska — 56
48. Wyoming — 54
49. Montana — 53
50. South Dakota — 33
51. North Dakota — 31
This data is based on an analysis of information from the CDC, National Center for Health Statistics and Multiple Cause of Death database, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
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