CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There is new data surrounding the ongoing opioid crisis, and it's is pushing some health officials to call for new treatment options in North Carolina.
End-of-the-year data showed nearly 2,000 people died in North Carolina last year from unintentional opioid overdoses, which is a 34 percent increase from 2016.
[ALSO READ: Stanly County leads state in opioid overdoses]
North Carolina Department of Health officials said they noticed a 24 percent drop last year in opioid pills being dispensed across the state.
Last month, several local counties filed lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, including Anson, Burke, Caldwell, Hickory, Lancaster, Mecklenburg and York counties.
Anson County's suit against a national pharmaceutical company will be tried in Ohio.
More than 1,200 similar cases will also be tried there so legal teams can consolidate them.
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