Drug Overdose Death Rate at an All-Time High: CDC

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Drug abuse has been a continuing problem in the society and, with the growing power of the cartels in Central America, authorities might be having a hard time figuring out how to completely eradicate drug smuggling.

Drug-related deaths have been a common occurrence in the country lately, in which the family of the victims asks the question, "why?"

Drug overdose deaths in the United States have dramatically increased, according to a new research.

The numbers stated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC, has reached an all-time high. There were 47,055 drug overdose-induced deaths last year across the United States. The data were collated from the death certificates of the people who died from various drug overdoses in 2014.

According to the statement in the CDC website, the states with the highest rate of drug overdose related deaths are West Virginia, Kentucky, New Mexico, New Hampshire and the state of Ohio.

In a report relayed by Independent, opioid pain medications and heroin are the leading culprits of overdose deaths in the nation.

According to the study, 61 percent of the total number of drug overdose related deaths were because of opioid and heroin, which have killed 28,647. The numbers may increase in the following years. The opioid-related overdose has quadrupled since the year 2000, which is 300 percent increase.

According to Rose Budd, who is the lead researcher, the result of their study shows an alarming epidemic in opioid-related overdose.

"The opioid epidemic is devastating American families and communities. To curb these trends and save lives, we must help prevent addiction and provide support and treatment to those who suffer from opioid use disorders," said Dr. Tom Frieden, director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CDC is making all possible solutions to prevent the further increase of drug overdose deaths. As a matter of fact, the agency has issued a new set of procedures to make opioid access a bit more difficult to prevent people from abusing it.

According to the agency's report, it is necessary to have "continued action to prevent opioid abuse, dependence, and death, improve treatment capacity for opioid use disorders, and reduce the supply of illicit opioids, particularly heroin and illicit fentanyl."

The ongoing problem of drug abuse only shows that it is really important for law enforcement like the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to work harder in reducing the street availability of such drugs. Drug abuse is an issue for many people from all walks of life and all demographics.