10 States with the Highest Drug Overdose Death Rates in America

America has a long and complex relationship with drugs and this list of states with the highest drug overdose death rates in America will give an idea how serious and vast this problem is. If you’re interested in comparing America with other countries for this issue, take a look at the statistic from 2015 from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, which shows us that America is the leading nation with the highest drug death rate.  We are dealing with the issue of overdose deaths in America in this article but if you’re wondering what state has the worst drug problem, it’s Vermont. The state with the highest drug use in 2017 so far is District of Columbia. In order to come to conclusion to this problem Wallet Hub used methodology by simply researching three questions: 1) Drug Use & Addiction, 2) Law Enforcement and 3) Drug Health Issues and Rehab. The statistics of the drug overdose deaths are quite startling and on the rise, unfortunately. America’s history with drugs goes way back, and was present during every war possible (because of the war injuries). The first legislation against drug abuse in America was in 1875, which tells us that we’re fighting this battle a little bit too long. If you’re thinking about the number of drug overdoses per year, well just in 2016 there were more than 59,000 death overdoses according to data compiled by New York Times. We’re still waiting for the official report of drug overdose deaths by state for 2016 and 2017, since it takes time to provide such detailed data.

Before we continue with our text you should know the definition of a drug – it is a chemical substance that has an effect on our central nervous system when consumed. Also, drugs can be put in our body in numerous ways, whether it is directly through a vein, snorting or sniffling through the nose, swallowing. It’s important to know that there are different types of drugs, pharmaceutical drugs, psychoactive drugs, “club drugs”, etc. “Club drugs”, are the types of drugs people usually consume when they are out and about in clubs, concerts, festivals, etc., some of the drugs that belong to this category are GHB, Rohypnol®, Ketamine, MDMA (Ecstasy), Methamphetamine, and LSD (Acid). People with addiction get desperate enough to fake pain in order to get some drug for “pain relief” and more about it you can read in this article 6 Best Injuries to Fake for Pain Meds. And, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse most of the club drugs are consumed by young adults. Seems like young adults are completely unaware of the dangerous effects these drugs can have. Before going any deeper into the problem, let’s take a look at a statistic report “Drugs Most Frequently Involved in Drug Overdose Deaths: United States, 2010-2014” published by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the statistic report, we learn that there are 10 frequently used drugs which lead to an overdose death. CDCP divided these 10 frequently used drugs into three categories and those are “opioids: heroin, oxycodone, methadone, morphine, hydrocodone, fentanyl; benzodiazepines: alprazolam and diazepam; stimulants: cocaine and methamphetamine.” As you will later see in our list, fentanyl is the drug that has the highest overdose rate, leaving heroin in the second place. If you’re looking for states with the highest opioid abuse and want to know more about opioids and its devastating consequences we got you covered with our article 10 States With The Highest Opioid Abuse Rates. In a report by the American Society of Addiction Medicine, you will find that there were 20,101 opioid related deaths. It seems like women are more likely to suffer from chronic pain, so they often get prescription for pain relievers and soon develop addiction problems. We’re still waiting for the official report for opioid deaths by state 2016.

Benzodiazepins are types of drugs that treat insomnia and anxiety so no wonder it is the type of drug mostly prescribed in America. The other name for benzodiazepins that you’re probably more familiar with is tranquilizers. According to Psychology Today, Americans seem to be overwhelmed with anxiety and stress.

The last category is stimulants, and they are known for their ability to increase blood pressure and energy level as the name suggests. Chances for addiction are very high. It is very important to pay attention when we’re talking about overdosing, since there are two types of it: unintentional and intentional. People often take more meds than it is prescribed to them.

Because it takes a lot of time to sort this kind of detailed information about the deaths, the latest info we have is from 2014. Top 10 drugs involved in drug overdose deaths in the United States, 2014:

Referent drug	Number of deaths
Heroin	10,863
Cocaine	5,856
Oxycodone	5,417
Alprazolam	4,217
Fentanyl	4,200
Morphine	4,022
Methamphetamine	3,728
Methadone	3,495
Hydrocodone	3,274
Diazepam	1,729

With this being said, let’s take a look at a list of states dealing with the most drug overdose deaths with the data from 2015. The list is compiled by the enter for Disease Control and Prevention. Also we will compare the current numbers with data from 1999 just so you can see the skyrocketing difference in numbers.

Let’s see those unfortunate states with the highest drug overdose death rates in America.

10. North Carolina

Deaths 1,457
Drug Overdose Death Rate 15.8

North Carolina went from 366 drug overdose deaths in 1999 to 1,457 in 2015.  It is one of the states whose statistic numbers rise steadily each year. Seems like fentanyl is the main synthetic opioid people use, since the usage of it increased by 70%. What people don’t know is that fentanyl is 50 times much stronger than heroin and 100% stronger than morphine.

9. Massachusetts

Deaths 1,567
Drug Overdose Death Rate 25.7

Massachusetts went from 488 drug overdose deaths in 1999  to 1.567 in 2015. Almost 70% of these deaths are because of the use of fentanyl. Just like North Carolina, Massachusetts fights the same battle. Fentanyl is mostly prescribed for chronic pain, however most of the patients have a hard time of letting it go once they’re healthy hence the addiction. Let’s see which country comes next on our list of states with the highest drug overdose death rates in America.

8. Illinois

Deaths 1,835
Drug Overdose Death Rate 14.4

Illinois went from having 825 deaths in 1999 to 1,835 in 2015. Unlike Massachusetts and North Carolina, Illinois has a bigger problem with heroin rather than fentanyl. While there are states that have ups and downs with this problem, Illinois is one of the states with a steady rise regarding the epidemic drug deaths from year to year.

7. Michigan

Deaths 1,980
Drug Overdose Death Rate 20.4

We are continuing our list of states with the highest drug overdose death rates in America with Michigan that went from having 460 drug deaths in 1999 to 1,980 in 2015. Drugs like OxyContin, Vicodin, methadone and fentanyl — were to blame for more than 40% of drug overdose deaths here, while heroin took almost 20% of those deaths.

6. Texas

Deaths 2,588
Drug Overdose Death Rate 9.4

Texas went from having 1,087 drug deaths in 1999 to 2,588 in 2015. Texas actually added several substances to the Controlled Substances Act, those that you can get a penalty for using. According to Texas Drug Abuse Statistic most of the import of illicit drugs happens because Mexico is right there below, which makes Texas a perfect target for smuggling.

5. New York

Deaths 2,754
Drug Overdose Death Rate 13.6

New York went from having 959 drug deaths in 1999 to an astonishing number of 2,754 in 2015, making it one of the states with the highest drug overdose death rates in America. According to the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, heroin is taking more lives than ever in New York City. Now that we have dark web it is so easy to get hold of the drugs, packed in, believe it or not,  baby toys. When it comes the abuse of heroin, seems like Queens is the main location of the action. Of course, it is important to say that most of the deaths are due to various drugs, not just heroin.

4. Florida

Deaths 3,228
Drug Overdose Death Rate 16.2

Unfortunately, we no longer think of retirement and cool summer vacations when Florida comes to our mind. There were 997 drug related deaths in 1999 in Florida, and the number has skyrocketed since then. Heroin and fentanyl is the deadly duo when looking at the statistics.

3. Pennsylvania

Deaths 3,264
Drug Overdose Death Rate 26.3

This state had 990 drug overdose deaths in 1999. Pennsylvania’s favorite drug for abuse is fentanyl. This chemical substance leaves no man behind. Deadly overdoses are steadily rising, high enough to place this state among the top three on our list of states with the highest drug overdose death rates in America.

2. Ohio

Deaths 3,310
Drug Overdose Death Rate 29.3

Ohio had 467 drug overdose deaths back in 1999, which is not that bad, but only when compared to recent numbers from just two years ago. The difference is leaving us speechless. Even though multiple drugs are blamed for taking this many lives, fentanyl seems to find its way on the top of the list, leaving heroin in the second place.

1. California

Deaths 4,659
Drug Overdose Death Rate 11.3

California has been fighting a serious battle with drugs for years. Just in 1999 California had 2,662 drug overdose deaths. This number doubled in 2015 making California number one on the list of states with the highest drug overdose death rates in America.