Statehouse News Bureau

The Statehouse News Bureau provides educational, comprehensive coverage of legislation, elections, issues and other activities surrounding the Statehouse to Ohio's public radio and television stations.

Pandemic Year Likely Deadliest One Ever For Drug Overdoses In Ohio

By Karen Kasler

Published July 17, 2021 at 3:10 PM EDT

[Dan Konik / Statehouse News Bureau] — A tipped over bottle of pills

Last year is likely to have been the deadliest year for drug overdoses ever in Ohio, according to a projection from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ohio is projectedto report 5,215 drug deaths last year, amounting to more than 14 Ohioans a day. The number would break the record set with 4,854 deaths in 2017.

That’s almost a 22% increase from the CDC’s 2019 number for Ohio, and the fourth largest total among all states. The CDC notes this projection is an underestimate based on provisional data.

Drug overdoses were largely expected as an impact of the pandemic, and the CDC data suggests overdose increases in all states.

Most of those drug overdoses involved opioids, with the deadly drug fentanyl the biggest concern.

The Ohio Department of Health is expected to put out its drug overdose death count later this year. Previous drug death totals:

2019: 4,028

2018: 3,764

2017: 4,854

2016: 4,050

2015: 2,531