U.S. Overdoses Claim More Deaths than Guns

(Summer 2018) American opioid-related deaths reached an all-time high in 2016 at 42,000 — five times greater than 1999 statistics. This swelling number now outpaces the number of American lives claimed by firearms each year.

Ohio’s upturn in overdose deaths is almost triple the 14.4% national average. The state has witnessed drug overdose fatalities skyrocket 39% from mid-2016 to mid-2017. Ohio’s increase was only eclipsed by Florida (39.4%) and Pennsylvania (43.4%). Approximately 14 Ohioans perish each day from a drug overdose. Even though Ohio allocates $1 billion annually to fight the opioid epidemic, advocates say it is not enough to turn the tide, and they stress the need for more prevention, treatment and recovery efforts.

From a national perspective, new research found above-average death rates due to opioids in low socio-economic areas with limited employment opportunities as well as in regions with elevated degrees of domestic disturbances and in areas where mining industry is dominant. Although rural populations were some of the first afflicted by the opioid problem, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that now the epidemic has also spread to minority populations in cities. This new group currently shows the most rapid increase in overdoses and fatalities.

In 2016 alone, over 63,000 Americans perished from a drug overdose, the majority were victims to some form of opioid. This equals the unnecessary death of approximately 174 people each day. Most of these individuals die in the prime of their lives, between the ages of 25 and 54 years old.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency, but critics have not been impressed by Congress or the Trump administration current efforts to right the situation. Taking matters into their own hands, municipalities, counties and states have filed more than 100 lawsuits against opioid manufacturers.

Sadly, experts predict that the opioid crisis will claim a burgeoning number of victims before the incidence of related deaths decreases.

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