Oregon, Washington, and Idaho rank among the top ten states in the country for abusing prescription painkillers.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 6.8 percent of Oregon residents reported abusing painkillers in the past year, a rate second only to Oklahoma’s 8.1 percent.
Both Washington and Rhode Island tied for third at 6.1 percent, while Idaho had the 6th-highest rate at 5.8 percent.
Nationally, almost 5 percent of Americans 12 and older reported abusing painkillers in the past year.
Deaths from drug overdoses, particularly prescription painkillers, increased significantly over a decade. In 2008, 36,450 people died of drug overdoses – a national rate of nearly 12 per 100,000 people.
States with the highest rates for fatal drug overdoses were New Mexico at 27 per 100,000 people, followed by West Virginia, Nevada, Utah and Alaska.
Washington ranked 14th at 14.7 overdose deaths per 100,000 people; Oregon was 30th at 11.7; and Idaho was 37th at 9.7. (AP, CDC)
Full report: http://www.cdc.gov/VitalSigns/PainkillerOverdoses/index.html
