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Report: More People Dying From Drug Overdoses Than Motor Vehicle Accidents

Last updated on Tuesday, June 23, 2015

(UNDATED) - More people are dying from drug overdoses than motor vehicle accidents according to a new report from the Trust of America’s Health.

Indiana ranked 15th for its rate of overdose deaths, stating 16 per 100,000 people in the state died from an overdose between 2011 and 2013.

Nationally, half of all overdose deaths are linked to prescription drugs.

Albert Lang, Trust for America's Health senior communications manager, says it is not just drugs like heroin, meth and cocaine, but the drugs like opioids for pain kept in someone's medicine cabinet that is doing a lot of the harm.

Officials are trying to measure the number of opioids prescribed and filled in the state so the state health department can track trends and identify inappropriate prescriptions or when people obtain prescriptions from multiple doctors.

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