Overdose Deaths Hit New High In Ohio, Nationwide In 2020: Report

OHIO — Overdose deaths hit a new high in 2020 in Ohio and the U.S., according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While the COVID-19 pandemic raged, forcing businesses to shutter and life to grind to a halt, many Americans continued to struggle with substance abuse. During those long months, overdose deaths spiked nearly 30 percent in the U.S., the CDC's report said.

In Ohio, based on incomplete data, overdose deaths were up more than 21 percent in 2020. The CDC believes 5,215 Ohioans died from overdoses last year, up from 4,279 in 2019.

“This is the highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded in a 12-month period, and the largest increase since at least 1999. These data are chilling," said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Nationally, more than 93,000 Americans died from overdoses in 2020, the CDC report said.

"The COVID-19 pandemic created a devastating collision of health crises in America. This has been an incredibly uncertain and stressful time for many people and we are seeing an increase in drug consumption, difficulty in accessing life-saving treatments for substance use disorders, and a tragic rise in overdose deaths. As we continue to address both the COVID-19 pandemic and the opioid crisis, we must prioritize making treatment options more widely available to people with substance use disorders," Volkow added.

One of the driving forces of overdose deaths in Ohio has been opioids — particularly fentanyl. the state's opioid overdose death rate jumped to 11.01 per 100,000 people in the second half of 2020, according to data from the Ohio Attorney General's office. That was the highest opioid overdose rate in at least a decade.

"Opioid overdoses might have taken a backseat in our minds last year because of COVID-19, but make no mistake: Ohioans are dying at a devastating rate because of opioid overdoses," Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement in late January 2021.

The analysis by Yost's office found an increase in opioid deaths in 67 percent of Ohio counties.

If you or someone you know is battling addiction or a substance abuse disorder, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s national helpline is a free and confidential resource for treatment referrals and other information. The number is 800-662-HELP.

Full data on 2020 overdose deaths can be found on the National Center for Health Statistics’ website.