Oregon Public Broadcasting

The number of drug related deaths in Oregon is at its highest point in nearly a decade.  It’s due in part to a spike in the number of people who died from overdosing on heroin.  Salem correspondent Chris Lehman has more.

231 people died from drug-related causes in Oregon last year.  That’s the highest number since 1999.

Most of the increase is the result of a big jump in the number of heroin-related deaths.

State Medical Examiner Karen Gunson says there could be a couple of reasons why heroin deaths are on the rise.

Karen Gunson:  “The availability of the drug.  The fact that there’s more drug available on the street and in the state of Oregon.  Second consideration, is the drug more potent than it has been in the past.”

Gunson says most of the people who died from a heroin overdose were in their 30’s or 40’s.

The second deadliest drug in Oregon is meth, though meth-related deaths fell last year.  Also down was the number of people who died from cocaine.

Statistics for drug-related deaths in Washington and Idaho were not immediately available.