For many of the millions of Americans caught in the growing scourge of opioid abuse, the outcome is far worse. And few places have been hit harder than Tennessee. The state said at least 1,263 Tennesseans died from opioid overdose in 2014, the most recent figure available and one that points to rampant abuse, misuse and addiction impacting millions of Tennesseans, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For every one person who dies there are 851 people in various stages of misuse, abuse and treatment, according to the CDC. That’s at least 1,074,813 Tennesseans, or 1 in 6. More people died in 2014 from opioid overdose than in car accidents in Tennessee.
For more on this growing problem, read Holly Fletcher’s article on opioid abuse in The Tennessean.
