A cause for concern
Drug overdose numbers in state increase from last year
By JAMES C. FALCON
editors@bhgnews.com
The number of drug overdose deaths in McLean County are low, at least on paper.
Kodi Pinks, director of noninfectious disease prevalence and data management with the North Dakota Department of Health, said that the numbers were so low between 2019 and 2020, it was only possible to get figures from a five-year period. Between 2016 and 2020, there were six drug-related deaths in McLean County.
Pinks noted that coding doesn’t distinguish between drug overdoses and people who die from an adverse reaction to a drug. Within each drug family, coding can also vary, she said. Sometimes, it is recorded under poisoning and other times as exposure.
While the numbers of deaths are relatively low in the county, that doesn’t necessarily mean there isn’t a problem with addiction overall.
Drug overdose deaths in North Dakota increased by almost 50 percent last year. According to the North Dakota Department of Health, 118 drug overdose deaths occurred in the state in 2020, an increase from the 79 that took place in 2019. While North Dakota saw a 49 percent increase, the nation saw a 30 percent increase.
