Kansas has 8th lowest opioid OD rate

Kansas was found to have the 8th-lowest opioid drug overdose rate, but had the 17th-highest prescription rate in the nation. This ranks Kansas 4th for biggest positive difference between the ranking of overdoses and prescription rates per 100k people.

Like Kansas, states that have the lowest rate of overdoses generally have the highest rate of prescriptions, and vice-versa.

Key report findings:

• Kansas has an overdose rate of 11.8 and a prescription rate of 69.8 per 100k people.

• Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey have the highest overdose, but lowest prescription rate.

• Mississippi, Arkansas and Alabama highest prescribers with lowest overdoses.

• Opioid overdoses costing the national healthcare system $11 billion annually.

• Opioid prescription rates down from 81.3 per 100k Americans in 2012 to 58.5 in 2017.