Since 2000, the rate of all drug overdose deaths across the country has increased 137 percent, largely thanks to widespread abuse of prescription painkillers.
In Nevada, drug overdoses were actually down by almost 13 percent in 2014. That's the second biggest drop in the country at a time when many states are seeing major increases.
Kevin Quint is with the Nevada Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Agency. He says despite the state's progress, heroin deaths have more than doubled from 19 in 2010 to 52 in 2014.
"Nevada's been pretty hard-hit by opiates and heroin," says Quint. "The fact that actually we went down a little bit in '13 and '14 is pretty good, and I think that trend will probably continue."
The CDC recently released its draft guidelines for doctors prescribing opioids, which you can check out here.
