Here’s what you need to know:
1. Prescription drugs, heroin and fentanyl have been used more prevalently over the past decade.
2. New Mexico had the highest drug overdose rate in the U.S., in 1999, with 15 related deaths per 100,000 people, according to CDC’s data.
3. The report shows West Virginia had the highest drug mortality rate in 2014, with 35.5 related deaths per 100,000 people and increasing the number to 41.5 per 100,000 in 2015.
4. The drug epidemic was mainly concentrated in western states such as New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Arizona in 1999.
5. Its epicenter has since moved to the south (Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee and Florida) and Appalachia and the Rust Belt (West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania).
6. According to the CDC, the following states (listed in alphabetical order) had the lowest drug overdose mortality rates in 2015, with 6.9 to 12 deaths between 100,000 people:
- California
- Hawaii
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Minnesota
- Nebraska
- North Dakota
- Oregon
- South Dakota
- Texas
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