DECATUR, Ga. – An analysis of autopsies performed by the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office in 152 counties in which drug overdose was the cause of death or significant contributing factor in the death has been completed. The analysis revealed prescription drug overdose deaths in 2018were lower than the previous three years while the overdose deaths attributed to illicit drugs were higher than they have been during the same period. 

Note: These statistics do NOT include autopsiesperformed by medical examiners in Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, or Rockdale counties. 

Of the 861 drug overdose deaths in 2018, there were 303 deaths which involved prescription drugs only. The analysis also showed that 441 drug overdose deaths in 2018 involved illicit drugs only and 115 deaths are attributed to both prescription and illicit drugs. 

Deaths from:	2015	2016	2017	2018
Rx Only	441	405	349	303
Illicit Only	219	271	383	441
Combination of Rx and Illicit	84	101	130	115
OTC	–	–	1	2
Total Deaths	774	777	863	861

For overdose drug deaths in 2018, the drugs found through toxicology tests in the highest numbers were as follows:

Drug:
Methamphetamine	304
Cocaine	144
Fentanyl/Analogues	138
Oxycodone	136
Alprazolam	129
Heroin	124
Gabapentin	99
Methadone	70
Morphine	60
Diphenhydramine	58

For all the drug deaths, the number per age range for 2018 were as follows: 

Age	Number of Deaths
<15	5
15-24	45
25-34	177
35-44	206
45-54	208
55-64	163
>64	54
Unreported	3

A breakdown by race and sex for 2018 for all drug overdose deaths follows:

Race	Number of Deaths	Percentage
White	720	83.62%
Black	125	14.52%
Hispanic	13	1.51%
Asian	2	0.02%
Gender	Number of Deaths	Percentage
Male	512	59.46%
Female	349	40.53%

A breakdown on the manner of death for 2018 drug overdose deaths follows:

Manner of Death	Number of Deaths	Percentage
Accidental	777	90.24%
Suicide	72	8.36%
Undetermined	12	1.39%

Please note: The GBI does not have a county by county breakdown of these statistics.