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California Drug Overdoses, The State’s Leading Cause Of Injury-Related Death

California Drug Overdose

In drought-stricken California, drug overdoses are now the leading cause of injury-related death, according to a recently published report by the nonprofit Trust for America’s Health.

Across most of the nation, drug overdoses now account for more injury-related deaths than car accidents.

The number of fatal drug overdoses has spiked over the past decade while the sales and prescriptions of heavy painkiller medications has quadrupled, The Washington Post reports.

Back in 2000, just five states in the U.S. — Arizona, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico and Maryland — and the District of Columbia reached more than 10 deaths per 100,000 residents, but now, come 2010, 38 states plus D.C. have either reached or exceeded this marker.

In regards to the most injury-related deaths, West Virginia tops the list as the most dangerous state to live in with 97.9 injury-related deaths per 100,000 people.

The state with the lowest drug overdose fatalities per capita, according to the report from Trust for America’s Health, was North Dakota. The state had just 2.6 deaths per 100,000.

The CDC previously declared prescription drug abuse an epidemic in the United States and the Trust for America report indicates that over half, nearly 52 percent, of the deaths as a result of overdose in the U.S. are related to prescription drugs.

Naloxone, which is more commonly known as Narcan, has been deployed in increasing numbers across the country, as the drug has shown the ability to reverse the effects of opioid induced overdoses; effectively saving the lives of overdose victims.

What are your thoughts on the prescription drug epidemic which continues to sweep the nation, leaving corpses in its wake?

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