COLUMBUS: Ohioans are dying from drug overdoses at record-high rates, the state Department of Health said Friday as it released 2011 figures that place the blame on prescription painkillers and also show a worsening heroin problem.
The number of people who died of accidental overdoses jumped 14 percent to 1,765 from 2010. Such overdoses remain the leading cause of accidental deaths in the state, ahead of car crashes and falls, a trend that began in 2007.
The data mean nearly five Ohioans died every day in 2011 from accidental drug overdoses, or about one every five hours.
The Health Department says multiple drug use is a major contributing factor, with more than two of every three deaths involving more than one drug.
The dire statistics come at a time when Ohio has launched numerous efforts to crack down on illegal prescription painkiller use and distribution. Midway through 2011, Ohio enacted a law meant to reduce the number of pills-on-demand clinics, where many addicts were receiving pain pills under questionable circumstances.
The state also has tightened prescribing rules for painkillers, while changes in Medicaid rules are making it easier for doctors to prescribe medication that helps addicts beat the craving for drugs like heroin and painkillers.
The increasing deaths are part of a decade-long trend of an overabundance of painkillers in the state, and it’s going to take awhile to reverse that trend, said Christy Beeghly, the Health Department’s Violence and Injury Prevention Program administrator.
“It’s like when we put more cars on the road, we’re going to see more car crashes,” Beeghley said Friday. “So we put more pills out there, we have more addiction and ultimately more overdoses.”
In 2011, an average of 59 painkillers was dispensed for every Ohio resident, according to Ohio Board of Pharmacy data.
Scioto County in southern Ohio led the state in the per capita overdose death rate from 2007 through 2011, followed by Brown, Jefferson, Pike and Adams counties, all in southern or eastern Ohio.
Cuyahoga County had the highest number of total overdose deaths in 2011 with 211, followed by Franklin County with 209 and Montgomery County with 121.
In addition to increases in prescription painkiller and heroin overdoses, a growing number of Ohioans are dying from overdosing with anti-anxiety medications, state data show.
The number of heroin overdose deaths jumped to 426 in 2011, up from 338 the previous year, part of a trend that police and counseling agencies have been warning about for several years. As addicts’ supply of painkillers dries up, they turn to the cheaper and, in some cases, more dangerous street drug.