Michigan had one of the highest numbers of drug overdose deaths in the U.S., according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics compiled by NiceRx, an online pharmacy.
Michigan ranked No. 10 on the list with 14,634 drug overdose deaths between 2013-2020. The state saw 1,553 overdose deaths in 2013 and 2,302 in 2020, a 48% change.
The top state for overdose deaths was California, with 39,156 deaths in that time period. The remaining top 10 states were Georgia (31,447), Rhode Island (27,486) Oklahoma (26,962), North Carolina (23,950), Utah (19,324), Indiana (17,257), New Mexico (15,287), and Minnesota (15,273).
According to the report, the top drugs causing the most deaths were heroin (with 48,579 overdose deaths between 2013-2016), fentanyl (32,728), cocaine (29,851), alprazolam (aka Xanax, 18,971), and methamphetamine (18,795).
According to the New York Times, drug overdoses now kill more than 100,000 Americans a year, more than vehicle crash and gun deaths combined — a product of the combination of overzealous doctors and pharmaceutical companies and a lack of accessible addiction treatment available.
"No other advanced nation is dealing with a comparable drug crisis," the New York Times reported.
While some research suggests that states that have legalized cannabis use for medical purposes have seen a reduction in opioid prescriptions and opioid-related deaths, the CDC says there’s no evidence that cannabis works to treat opioid use disorder, and cautions that using cannabis has been shown to increase risk for opioid misuse.
The University of Michigan recently announced a five-year, $7.4 million grant to study cannabis therapies to manage chronic pain in U.S. veterans as an effective alternative to opioids.
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