Overdose Deaths

Ohio joins a growing number of states are decriminalizing fentanyl testing strips, seeking to protect people who use drugs from unwitting exposure to the highly potent synthetic opioid ravaging the U.S. with overdose deaths.

The Biden administration will use data from EMS first responders to track overdoses. The focus will be on improving response to a public health crisis that kills more than 100,000 Americans annually.

Black people had the second highest overdose death rate in 2020. In Franklin County drug deaths among blacks were up 55%.

New numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that synthetic opioid use is driving the overdose crisis in the U.S.

Last year is likely to have been the deadliest year for drug overdoses ever in Ohio, according to a projection from the CDC.

Overdose deaths in Franklin County increased by nearly 50% in 2020. Over the past 3 years, the rate has jumped by close to 84%.

The Drug Enforcement Administration officials say fentanyl remains a threat throughout Ohio and other parts of the country.

President Trump promised to end America's opioid crisis. On his watch overdose deaths flattened in 2018 then surged again to record levels.

New data from the CDC show more than 19,000 Americans died from drug overdoses during the first three months of 2020 with the country on pace to set a grim new record.

While the coronavirus pandemic dominates the news, a rash of Columbus-area overdoses is a reminder that the opioid epidemic continues to take its toll on…