Crackdown on over-prescribing opioids drops overdose deaths

CINCINNATI — In recent years, state officials in Ohio have cracked down on how doctors prescribe opioids and other addictive substances, along with how they report prescription drug abuse. A subsequent drop in the number of overdose deaths have addiction counselors cautiously optimistic that the new measures could be helping.

Between 2016 and 2017, at least 800 Ohioans died from overdoses involving commonly-prescribed opioids. In 2018, that number dropped dramatically, to the lowest it's been since 2010.