Vital Signs: Variation Among States in Prescribing of Opioid Pain Relievers and Benzodiazepines — United States, 2012

Vital Signs: Variation Among States in Prescribing of Opioid Pain Relievers and Benzodiazepines — United States, 2012

• Healthcare providers wrote 259 million prescriptions for opioid painkillers in 2012, enough for every American adult to have a bottle of pills.
• Ten of the highest prescribing states for painkillers are in the South.
• States can take steps to address the overprescribing of painkillers. Learn aboutchanges in Florida’s laws and enforcement actions, after which painkiller prescribing and overdoses dropped.