Prescription Opioid Sales In New York From 2000 To 2017

Prescription opioid sales in New York have seen a more than 200 percent growth from 2000 to 2017, according to the State Health Access Data Assistance Center.

This growth in opioid sales put New York No. 9 on the list of states that saw the highest increase during that timeframe, according to Consumer Protect, a website that looks to shed light on consumer industries. The state that had the most growth over a 17-year span was Kansas, with a 260 percent increase in opioid sales, the website shows.

Prescription opioid use of oxycodone and hydrocodone peaked across the nation, and in New York, during 2011, according to SHADAC. The rate of opioid sales in the United States more than tripled from from 200o to 2011, which was when the crackdown on opioids began, according to Consumer Protect.

While rates have gone down since then, the numbers are still higher than 17 years ago.

Below shows SHADAC data which compares the number of oxycodone and hydrocodone kilogram sales per 100,000 people in New York and the United States over time: (year— US data; NY data)

• 2000— 10.6; 6.1
• 2011—33.9; 26.1
• 2017— 24.4; 18.7

While there was a large increase in New York over time, prescription opioid sales are still low in the Empire State compared to the rest of the country.

New York is ranked No. 40 in the state ranking of opioid sales in 2017, according to Consumer Protect. The United States as a whole would rank No. 24. Tennessee saw the highest number of opioid sales in 2017 with 44.3 oxycodone and hydrocodone kilogram sales per 100,000 people. Washington, D.C., had the lowest number of sales at a rate of 10.6, Consumer Protect data shows.

The good news is Arkansas, Wyoming and Idaho are the only states to not see a reduction in opioid sales since the beginning of 2010, Consumer Protect reports. While this means prescription drugs may be harder to get "legally" in most states, the opioid epidemic continues to get worse, Consumer Protect reports.

"Legal prescriptions may be less available, but users have switched to illegal drugs like heroin and fentanyl, which are cheaper and more deadly," the website says.

Read more from Consumer Protest here.

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