Associated Press
Sunday, May 29, 2016

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) – The crisis of addiction hasn’t spared any demographic or any state, including Oklahoma.

The Trust for America’s Health ranked Oklahoma fifth-highest for drug overdose mortality in the U.S., based on 2013 numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Stillwater News Press (http://bit.ly/1WmaWXN ) reported. The same report said that rate tripled from 1999-2010.

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy, M.D. came to Oklahoma this week, holding meetings with communities and addressing the dual plagues of prescription drug abuse and opioid addiction.

He made a stop in Shawnee at the Citizen Potawatomi Cultural Center Wednesday during a meeting of the Southern Plains Tribal Health Board to have a town hall meeting with Native American youth who are developing prevention programs in their own communities.

He also held a listening session with tribal leaders, parents and youth.

It was the first-ever meeting between a U.S. Surgeon General and tribal leaders.

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