KY Overdose Deaths Up 282 Percent

WKMS | By The Associated Press,

Whitney Jones

Published December 20, 2012 at 7:24 AM CST

A new study shows drug overdose deaths in Kentucky rose 282 percent between 2000 and 2010. The Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center analyzed information from emergency rooms, in-patient hospitalizations and mortality records. Drug overdose deaths increased from six per 100,000 Kentuckians in 2000 to almost 23 per 100,000 in 2010. More than half of the deaths were from prescription drugs, and the highest fatality rates were in eastern Kentucky.

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Kentucky overdose deaths

The Associated Press

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Whitney Jones

Whitney grew up listening to Car Talk to and from her family’s beach vacation each year, but it wasn’t until a friend introduced her to This American Life that radio really grabbed her attention. She is a recent graduate from Union University in Jackson, Tenn., where she studied journalism. When she’s not at WKMS, you can find her working on her backyard compost pile and garden, getting lost on her bicycle or crocheting one massive blanket.

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