LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - New research by KFF, a health policy organization, shows Nebraska has the lowest opioid overdose death rate in the country—just 8.58 deaths per 100,000 people.

That’s well below the national average of more than 31.

In 2023, the CDC reported that Nebraska recorded 172 overdose deaths, and opioids were involved in just under half of them.

That’s far fewer than states with similar populations like Idaho, which saw 386 deaths, and New Mexico, which recorded 993.

“They just have more opioid use,” said Ryan Carruthers, the Chief Clinical Officer at Centerpointe. “They have more heroin use, fentanyl use than we have here in Nebraska.”

In Lincoln and Lancaster County, data show a consistent decrease in drug overdoses over the past four years. From 224 deaths in 2022 to

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