ODH: Drug deaths continue to rise in Ohio

More than 13 people, on average, died every day in Ohio last year because of drug overdoses, a new high as the state continues to battle the opioid epidemic (Source: “Drug deaths in Ohio increase to 4,854 in 2017: state report,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, Sept. 27, 2018).

According to the Ohio Department of Health report,  overdose deaths have risen from 2,531 in 2014 to 4,854 in 2017.

The report found that prescription-related opioid overdose deaths have reached an eight-year low and deaths from heroin are at a four-year low. In 2017, 70.7 percent of the drug deaths involved illegal fentanyl and related drugs such as Carfentanil. That's up compared to 58.2 percent in 2016, 37.9 percent in 2015 and 19.9 percent in 2014.

The Health Policy Institute has created an Addiction Evidence Project to enable policymakers to take stock of what’s been done to address the issue in Ohio, compare it to what the evidence says works best and determine where there are still gaps in the state’s response to the addiction crisis.