Rates of drug overdose deaths continue to increase according to a new report from the CDC. Overdose deaths rose nearly 10 percent in 2017.
Ohio has the second-highest rate in the country, with neighboring states West Virginia and Pennsylvania making up the top three. In 2017, the United States saw 70,237 deaths from drug overdoses.
The Ohio Department of Health recorded a record high 4,854 drug overdose deaths in 2017, which was a 20 percent rise from the previous year. That meant there were 46.3 overdose deaths per every 100,000 people.
West Virginia's rate, the highest in the nation, was 57.8 deaths per 100,000 people.
Twenty states and the District of Columbia had drug overdose death rates that were statistically higher than the national rate, which was 21.7 deaths per 100,000 people.
Synthetic opioids like fentanyl were a large reason for the death toll: From 2016 to 2017, deaths from synthetic opioids other than methadone increased 45 percent.
