Statistics reveal drug overdose as the leading cause of accidental death in the United States. The numbers show that opioid use is driving the epidemic. In 2016, more than 42,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Arkansas, there were 379 drug overdose deaths in 2016, which climbed to 411 drug overdose deaths the next year.
On average, 188 Americans die every day from a drug overdose, and 40% of all opioid overdose deaths involved a prescription opioid.
Arkansas is ranked at #2 in the nation for over-prescribing opioid medications at 114.6 opioid prescriptions per 100 people (the national average is 66.5 prescriptions per 100 people).
