LEWISON, Idaho (AP) — Authorities say thirteen people died of a drug overdose in Nez Perce County in northern Idaho, at least double the number of any single year in the past nine years.
The Lewiston Morning Tribune reports the county coroner’s office compiled the figures, finding that overdose deaths spiked last year compared to the three overdose deaths recorded in 2016.
In five of the 13 deaths, two or more drugs were present at the time of death. In the remainder, one drug was attributed to the overdose – most commonly methamphetamine.
In 2014, 2013 and 2012, six people died of drug overdoses, with every other year in the nine years recorded totaling zero to three deaths per year.