In 2020 more than 96,000 drug-induced deaths were recorded in the U.S., about 29.2 such deaths per 100,000 population.  In contrast, a year earlier the U.S. recorded about 74,500 drug-related deaths or about 22.7 such deaths per 100,000 population.  The year-over-year increase in the number of U.S. drug-induced deaths was consistent with an ongoing negative trend, fueled by more frequent overdose deaths, that goes back at least two decades. Since 1999, the drug-induced death rate per 100,000 population in the U.S. has increased by more than 400%.  In 2020 the six-state Far Western region of the U.S. recorded nearly 13,700 drug-induced deaths, giving the region an overall drug-induced death rate of 24.2 such deaths per 100,000 population.  Collectively, the region's 2020 drug-induced death rate was about 17% below the national average, with every state in the region recording a death rate that was lower than the national average.  Further examination of data from the National Center for Health Statistics provides the following details about drug-induced death rates in the Far Western U.S.:

Drug-Induced Death Rates in the Far Western U.S.

State	Deaths	Population	Death Rate*
Alaska	179	731,158	24.5
California	9,452	39,368,078	24.0
Hawaii	307	1,407,006	21.8
Nevada	866	3,138,259	27.6
Oregon	997	4,241,507	23.5
Washington	1,896	7,693,612	24.6
Region	13,697	56,579,620	24.2
U.S. Totals	96,096	329,484,123	29.2

(*) number of drug-induced deaths (intentional and unintentional) per 100,000 population

Report Period: 2020

Source: CDC Wonder. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2020 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released in 2021. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2020, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed on October 24, 2022