CLEVELAND, Ohio - Unless something is done, Ohio could remain at the center of the national opioid epidemic for the foreseeable future.

Drug deaths in the state are expected to rise 70 percent by 2025, according to a new report. Since 1999, drug deaths in the Buckeye State already have increased 506 percent.

Beyond that, deaths from drugs, suicide and alcohol combined are projected to climb 47 percent by 2025 in Ohio and 41 percent nationwide, according to the report, "Pain in the Nation: The Drug, Alcohol and Suicide Epidemics and the Need for a National Resilience Strategy" released today by Trust for American's Health, a health policy and advocacy organization, and Well Being Trust, a mental health foundation.

But even those estimates are conservative. At the current rate of heroin, fentanyl and carfentanil use, death rates would actually double by 2025, the report said.

"It's time for a paradigm shift," John Auerbach, president and CEO of Trust for America's Health, said during a conference call.

The report calls for approaches that focuses on prevention, early identification and effective treatment.

"There is a serious crisis across the nation, and solutions must go way beyond reducing the supply of opioids, other drugs and alcohol. Greater steps--that promote prevention, resiliency and opportunity--must be taken to address the underlying issues of pain, hopelessness and despair," Auerbach said in a statement.

To reduce opioid deaths, suggestions include: adopting responsible opioid prescribing practices, public education about disposal of unused drugs, anti-trafficking efforts and increasing the availability of rescue drugs.

As for suicide and alcohol deaths, the report recommends: expanding crisis intervention services, promoting anti-bullying education in schools and integrating primary health into primary care; and increasing prices and reducing the hours of alcohol sales and enforcing underage drinking laws, respectively.

Dr. Rahul Gupta, state health officer and commissioner for the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health, said it's important to take into account social determinants of health.

"Neither can be jail our way out of the problem, [nor] can we exclusively treat our way out of the problem," Gupta said during the call.