Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia still leads the nation in the rate of drug overdose deaths.
The Register-Herald reports the latest data from the National Center for Health Statistics shows the age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths in West Virginia is 52 per 100,000 in 2016. Ohio was second, with a rate of 39.1 New Hampshire is third.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there were more than 63,600 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. The deadliest drug was the synthetic opioid fentanyl, which was linked to more than 19,400 deaths. The rate of drug overdose deaths connected to synthetic opioids doubled in just one year.
___
Information from: The Register-Herald, http://www.register-herald.com
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
