There has been a significant amount of attention given to the nationwide opiate crisis. In 2017, Texas’ 5.1 opiate-related deaths per 100,000 people were significantly lower than the national average of 14.6 per 100,000 people. While Texas has a lower-than-average overdose rate, there is work to be done. Heroin-related deaths in Texas have doubled since 2007 and increased each year since 2013.
While Texas has a lower opiate overdose rate than the national average, law enforcement has continued cracking down on the trafficking of opiates like heroin. Federal officials arrested 43 people in Southeast Texas in effort to break up a suspected drug trafficking ring in March 2019. Law enforcement hopes that the arrest slows the distribution of illegal substances like heroin into Texas and into other states.
