Utah ranks high for drug overdose

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah ranks number six in the country for drug overdoses, according to a recent study.

The study tracked overdose fatalities in the United States over a 7-year period. Utah had 19,324 deaths recorded, which is the sixth highest in the whole of the US.

The research spanned from 2013-2020 and was conducted by NiceRx. The study also tracked  the type of drugs causing the most deaths. The data showed that the biggest increase in overdose deaths happened  between 2013-2016.

The top five states with the highest rate of overdose deaths are California, Georgia, Rhode Island, Oklahoma and North Carolina.

In contrast, Wyoming had the lowest number of overdose-related deaths in the country. Between 2013 and 2020, the state recorded 617 deaths.

Most abused substances 

Additionally, the report revealed heroin was involved in the highest number of over dose deaths. Between 2011-2016, America recorded over 48,000 deaths the nationally.  Fentanyl involved  overdose deaths increase by over 850%.

The report can be viewed at nicerx.com.

Related: Fentanyl overdoses killing more Americans than COVID-19