In 2012, the CDC reported that health care providers in Alabama prescribed almost 3 times as many opioid prescriptions per person as those in the lowest prescribing state, Hawaii. That same year, the National Prescription Audit found that Alabama had the highest number (143) of prescription painkillers per 100 people.
In August 2016, Alabama was chosen as one of 13 states selected to receive funds through the Prescription Drug Overdose: Data-Driven Prevention Initiative (DDPI) to advance and evaluate state-level plans to address opioid misuse, abuse, and overdose.
According to the CDC, almost 2 million Americans abused or were dependent on prescription opioids in 2014. Over 1,000 people are treated in emergency departments every day for misusing prescription opioids.
The Pain & Policy Studies Group (PPSG) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison report opioid consumption data each year based on information received from the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) for 6 principal opioids: fentanyl, hydromorphone, methadone, morphine, oxycodone, and pethidine. According to the PPSG, this data represents the amounts of opioids distributed legally in a country for medical and scientific purposes to institutions licensed to dispense to patients.