Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study Tuesday saying overdoses from prescription painkillers are at epidemic levels.

This CDC chart details deaths by state due to prescription drug overdoses.

The CDC says prescription painkillers kill more Americans than heroin and cocaine combined. And that the death toll has tripled in the last 10 years.

Oregonians buy more painkillers per capita than people in most states, according to the study. But it also shows the rate of overdose deaths here is slightly lower than the national average -- at about one in ten thousand people. CDC director, Doctor Thomas Frieden, says prescription painkillers kill about 40 Americans every day and something needs to be done.

"Doctors can screen patients more carefully. States can put pill mills out of business, and step up their prescription drug monitoring. Together states, doctors and patients can reverse this epidemic," Frieden said.

Another part of the study measured abuse of prescription drugs — meaning that they were used non-medically. On that scale, Oregon had the second highest rate of abuse among states, with Washington in third place.

On the Web

State info

http://www.cdc.gov/VitalSigns/PainkillerOverdoses/index.html#StateInfo