opinion

Fatal overdoses reach record levels in Michigan

Deaths from drug overdoses in Michigan have reached record levels, according to the latest data from the Michigan Department of Community Health.

In Michigan, 1,533 people died from drug overdoses in 2013 — up 18% from the previous year. Prior to 2013, fatal overdoses in Michigan were steadily declining from a peak of 1,416 deaths in 2009.

Mobile users click here to access the county database of heroin and opioid related deaths.

Heroin overdose deaths in Michigan have increased nearly five-fold since 2002. A total of 225 people died from heroin in 2013, up from 46 heroin deaths in 2002. Opioid pain relievers — such as oxycodone (OxyContin), hydrocodone (Vicodin) and methadone — remain the most common drugs in fatal overdoses — 233 people in 2013. There were 956 deaths that were unspecified or caused by other drugs.

In Macomb County, the number of heroin overdose deaths jumped from 61 people in 2012 to 94 in 2013. There were 1.1 heroin related deaths per 10,000 residents in Macomb in 2013, the highest rate among counties statewide.

The growth in heroin-related deaths among Michigan residents mirrors a national trend of increasing heroin use and overdoses. In the U.S., heroin-related overdoses nearly quadrupled between 2002 and 2013, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heroin use is increasing across the board, but especially among women, higher-income groups and individuals with private insurance. Individuals addicted to opioid pain relievers are 40 times more likely to be addicted to heroin.

Prevention measures offered by the CDC to combat heroin abuse and fatalities include reducing prescription painkiller abuse, increasing access to medication-assisted treatment and expanding the use of Naloxone, a drug that can help reverse an opioid overdose.