Montgomery County Has Highest Prescription Drug Overdose Rate in Ohio DAYTON, OH (WYSO) - Ohio ranks above the national average for prescription drug overdoses in what the state Department of Health is calling an epidemic. New data says that Montgomery County residents are most likely to die of an overdose in the state of Ohio.

Between 2000 and 2007, the average number of Montgomery County residents who died of a prescription drug overdose was over two times the state average.

Joseph Szoke with the Alcohol Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services board in Montgomery County says although the number of deaths can't be disputed, there are other factors to consider when looking at averages across the state.

"We have such a good regional crime lab that I think that they are actually capturing the data correctly."

Szoke says that differences in the way crime labs across the state report overdoses may result in a county under-reporting. But he says that the number of prescription drug overdoses in Montgomery County is still alarming.

"784 is still 784. These are preventable deaths," he says.

Scioto county ranked second in Ohio with Clark and Greene counties' overdose rates also coming in above the state average.
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