I chose to research how American states compared to each other in regard to number of deaths from drug overdoes. The number varied been states as well over a period of time. The increase going from 4 per 100,000 (1999) to 12 per 10,000 (2009) and the number . I originally believed this would result in a large number of overdoes from users of illegal 'street' narcotics. However, 60% of those who died in 2010 were believed to be from prescription pain killers, making me question how the availability of prescription painkillers in each state correlates to OD deaths, (New York and Texas, have very strict laws , requiring ID and other documents, compared to Florida which does not) and what why numbers are higher in certain states such as Florida,, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky (which have some of the highest average number of elderly peoples, just an observation)
This lead me to look at the comparison and correlation between the number of medical painkillers sold in each state to the overall number of OD deaths. http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/painkilleroverdoses/infographic.html
This web page gives a comparison over a 10 year period http://knowmore.washingtonpost.com/2013/11/14/drug-overdose-deaths-have-quadrupled-since-1980/
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