CDC: ER visits for opioid overdose up 30% in recent year

Emergency room visits from opioid overdoses spiked by 30 percent across the U.S. from mid-2016 to late 2017, the government said in a sobering report Tuesday that underscored the need for resources to reel in a worsening crisis.

Every region reported an uptick in the prescription painkiller and heroin scourge, led by a 70 percent rise in the Midwest and followed by the West’s 40 percent increase, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.