A new study has revealed which states saw the biggest increases and decreases in drug overdose deaths.
The research, conducted by Boston personal injury lawyers Stone Injury Lawyers, analyzed drug overdose mortality data from the CDC for the years 2021 and 2022. Each year’s number of deaths from drug overdoses per 100,000 population was taken to calculate the percentage change from 2021 to 2022 in each state.
The state that saw the greatest decline in drug overdose deaths is West Virginia. This state saw a -11% change in drug overdose deaths per 100,000. In 2021, there were 90.9 overdose deaths per 100,000. By 2022, this had fallen to 80.9 deaths per 100,000.
The state with the second-biggest fall in drug overdose deaths per 100,000 is South Dakota, with a -10.32% change. The number of fatalities per 100,000 fell from 12.6 to 11.3 from 2021 to 2022.
In third place is Rhode Island, which saw a -8.63% change from 2021 (41.7 deaths per 100,000) to 2022 (38.1 deaths per 100,000).
Utah experienced the next greatest decline in drug overdose deaths per 100,000. The state saw a change of -6.16%, with numbers falling from 21.1 deaths per 100,000 in 2021 to 19.8 per 100,000 in 2022.
Next is Florida, which saw a change of -6.13% in overdose deaths in the time period. In 2021, there were 37.5 overdose fatalities per 100,000 compared to 32.5 fatalities per 100,000 in 2022.
In sixth place is Maryland, which saw a change of -5.84%. In 2021, there were 42.8 overdose deaths per 100,000. This fell to 40.3 deaths per 100,000 in 2022.
Virginia experienced the next biggest fall in drug overdose deaths. The state saw a change of –5.57%. In 2022, the number of deaths per 100,000 was 28.8, falling from 30.5 per 100,000 in 2021.
In eighth place is Pennsylvania, which saw a -5.32% change in drug overdose deaths. There were 43.2 overdose deaths per 100,000 in 2021, falling to 40.9 deaths per 100,000 in 2022.
In ninth place, Ohio saw a -5.20% change in drug overdose deaths per 100,000 between 2021 and 2022. In 2021, there were 48.1 overdose deaths per 100,000 in Ohio. In 2022, there were 45.6 deaths per 100,000.
Finally, the state that saw the tenth-biggest decline in drug overdose deaths per 100,000 is Colorado, with a -5.10% change. 2021 saw 31.4 overdose deaths per 100,000 in the state and 29.8 deaths per 100,000 in 2022.
Oklahoma experienced the biggest rise in drug overdose deaths between 2021 and 2022, an increase of 25.82%. In 2021, there were 24.4 drug overdose deaths per 100,000. This rose to 30.7 deaths per 100,000 in 2022.
Washington saw the next biggest rise in drug overdose deaths. The number of fatalities grew from 28.1 per 100,000 in 2021 to 33.7 per 100,000 in 2022. This represents an increase of 19.93%.
In third place is Oregon, with a 16.04% increase in drug overdose deaths. The number of deaths from drug overdoses hit 31.1 per 100,000 in 2022, up from 26.8 per 100,000 in 2021.
In fourth place is Wyoming. In this state, fatalities from drug overdoses increased by 15.87%. The number of deaths grew from 18.9 per 100,000 in 2021 to 21.9 per 100,000 in 2022.
Maine ranks fifth, experiencing an increase of 15.29% in drug overdose deaths between 2021 and 2022. In 2021, there were 47.1 deaths per 100,000, and in 2022, there were 54.3 per 100,000, the largest amount in the ten states that saw the greatest increase in overdose fatalities.
The state that saw the sixth-biggest increase in drug overdose deaths is North Dakota. In this state, the number of drug overdose deaths per 100,000 reached 17.2 in 2021, climbing to 19.8 per 100,000 in 2022, an increase of 15.12%.
Next is New Hampshire, which saw an 11.46% increase in drug overdose deaths. The state saw the number of deaths from drug overdoses per 100,000 climb from 32.3 in 2021 to 36 per 100,000 in 2022.
Following on in eighth place is New York, with a 9.41% increase in drug overdose fatalities. In 2021, drug overdose deaths per 100,000 reached 28.7. In 2022, this number climbed to 31.4 per 100,000.
In ninth place is Kansas, with a 9.05% increase in overdose mortality per 100,000. The number of deaths per 100,000 climbed from 24.3 in 2021 to 26.5 in 2022.
The state that experienced the tenth-biggest increase in overdose fatalities is Idaho. In this state, there were 19 drug overdose deaths per 100,000 in 2021. In 2022, there were 20.7 deaths per 100,000, an increase of 8.95%.
26 states saw a rise in drug overdose fatalities. Conversely, 23 states experienced a decline.
