Drug overdoses are the leading cause of death for half the nation, including Arizona, causing more accidental deaths than car accidents.
A report released Wednesday from the Trust of America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation showed the number of overdose deaths has more than doubled to 44,000 per year.
Albert Lang is with Trust for America’s Health. He said Arizona has the 10th-highest drug overdose rate in the country.
"We’ve seen a real surge in the amount of prescribing of prescription drugs which are then being abused and misused and getting people hooked, in which case is driving numbers of overdoses and unfortunately a surge in deaths — of drug overdose deaths," Lang said.
Lang said Arizona has an overdose death rate of 17.8 per 100,000, a significant increase from the previous measurement in 2009, when the rate was 15.2.