Counties where the most opioids are dispensed in South Carolina
This story originally appeared on Ophelia and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
Counties where the most opioids are dispensed in South Carolina
When Purdue Pharma first began sales of OxyContin in the late 1990s, it was advertised as relief for cancer patients and people with chronic pain. Aggressive marketing fueled the drug's popularity, along with that of other opioid pain management drugs on the market. But as the company touted OxyContin to physicians, it downplayed the drug's addictiveness, according to confidential Justice Department reports obtained by news organizations, leading to widespread use that has fueled an opioid epidemic across the U.S.
More than 645,000 people have died from opioid-related overdoses between 1999 and 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Provisional data shows just under 80,000 people died in 2022 alone.
Opioid prescriptions have decreased dramatically over the past decade as physicians and public health officials learned about the dangers of OxyContin and other opioids prescribed for pain management. In 2020, the most recent year with data available, the national opioid dispense rate reached 43.3 per 100 people, the lowest rate ever recorded.
A 2022 study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that counties with higher dispensing rates had more cases of opioid misuse and dependence. The study suggested that reducing prescriptions at the local level can lower a community's rate of opioid abuse or misuse.
Other studies, however, have suggested that decreasing prescriptions may have fueled a new phase of the opioid epidemic: the rise of synthetics like fentanyl. In 2020, synthetics accounted for 82% of all opioid deaths.
It's also important to note that, as awareness has grown about the dangers of dispensing opioid prescription painkillers, more health care professionals are also prescribing medications like Suboxone–which contains buprenorphine and naloxone—for the treatment of addiction and opioid use disorders. While Suboxone is also an opioid medication, it works differently than typical opioid painkillers, blocking the effects of more powerful and addictive opioids to deter intentional misuse.
Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ophelia broke down counties in every state with the highest opioid dispense rates. In the case of a tie, the county with the higher population and higher raw number is ranked higher. Data was available for 98% of counties in the United States. Overall in South Carolina, the opioid dispensing rate was 56.6 per 100 people, compared to 43.3 nationally.
Read the national story for additional historical context and see where other counties outside of South Carolina stand.
#46. Calhoun County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 6.3 per 100 people
--- 88.9% lower than state average
--- 85.5% lower than national average
#45. Mccormick County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 11.8 per 100 people
--- 79.2% lower than state average
--- 72.7% lower than national average
#44. Saluda County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 11.8 per 100 people
--- 79.2% lower than state average
--- 72.7% lower than national average
#43. Lee County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 13.2 per 100 people
--- 76.7% lower than state average
--- 69.5% lower than national average
#42. Edgefield County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 16.3 per 100 people
--- 71.2% lower than state average
--- 62.4% lower than national average
#41. Jasper County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 16.9 per 100 people
--- 70.1% lower than state average
--- 61.0% lower than national average
#40. Union County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 17.7 per 100 people
--- 68.7% lower than state average
--- 59.1% lower than national average
#39. Berkeley County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 18.2 per 100 people
--- 67.8% lower than state average
--- 58.0% lower than national average
#38. Marlboro County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 18.7 per 100 people
--- 67.0% lower than state average
--- 56.8% lower than national average
#37. Williamsburg County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 18.8 per 100 people
--- 66.8% lower than state average
--- 56.6% lower than national average
#36. Dorchester County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 22.8 per 100 people
--- 59.7% lower than state average
--- 47.3% lower than national average
#35. Fairfield County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 23.9 per 100 people
--- 57.8% lower than state average
--- 44.8% lower than national average
#34. Hampton County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 25.5 per 100 people
--- 54.9% lower than state average
--- 41.1% lower than national average
#33. Chesterfield County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 26.7 per 100 people
--- 52.8% lower than state average
--- 38.3% lower than national average
#32. York County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 29.1 per 100 people
--- 48.6% lower than state average
--- 32.8% lower than national average
#31. Kershaw County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 29.7 per 100 people
--- 47.5% lower than state average
--- 31.4% lower than national average
#30. Abbeville County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 30.0 per 100 people
--- 47.0% lower than state average
--- 30.7% lower than national average
#29. Lancaster County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 30.3 per 100 people
--- 46.5% lower than state average
--- 30.0% lower than national average
#28. Laurens County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 34.5 per 100 people
--- 39.0% lower than state average
--- 20.3% lower than national average
#27. Newberry County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 37.1 per 100 people
--- 34.5% lower than state average
--- 14.3% lower than national average
#26. Chester County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 38.3 per 100 people
--- 32.3% lower than state average
--- 11.5% lower than national average
#25. Aiken County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 40.0 per 100 people
--- 29.3% lower than state average
--- 7.6% lower than national average
#24. Marion County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 41.5 per 100 people
--- 26.7% lower than state average
--- 4.2% lower than national average
#23. Orangeburg County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 43.8 per 100 people
--- 22.6% lower than state average
--- 1.2% higher than national average
#22. Allendale County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 44.5 per 100 people
--- 21.4% lower than state average
--- 2.8% higher than national average
#21. Beaufort County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 45.4 per 100 people
--- 19.8% lower than state average
--- 4.8% higher than national average
#20. Sumter County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 45.6 per 100 people
--- 19.4% lower than state average
--- 5.3% higher than national average
#19. Colleton County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 46.4 per 100 people
--- 18.0% lower than state average
--- 7.2% higher than national average
#18. Bamberg County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 46.6 per 100 people
--- 17.7% lower than state average
--- 7.6% higher than national average
#17. Barnwell County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 47.0 per 100 people
--- 17.0% lower than state average
--- 8.5% higher than national average
#16. Georgetown County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 49.8 per 100 people
--- 12.0% lower than state average
--- 15.0% higher than national average
#15. Dillon County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 51.2 per 100 people
--- 9.5% lower than state average
--- 18.2% higher than national average
#14. Cherokee County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 51.2 per 100 people
--- 9.5% lower than state average
--- 18.2% higher than national average
#13. Horry County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 54.3 per 100 people
--- 4.1% lower than state average
--- 25.4% higher than national average
#12. Oconee County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 56.4 per 100 people
--- 0.4% lower than state average
--- 30.3% higher than national average
#11. Lexington County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 57.7 per 100 people
--- 1.9% higher than state average
--- 33.3% higher than national average
#10. Clarendon County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 57.8 per 100 people
--- 2.1% higher than state average
--- 33.5% higher than national average
#9. Richland County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 61.3 per 100 people
--- 8.3% higher than state average
--- 41.6% higher than national average
#8. Anderson County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 67.1 per 100 people
--- 18.6% higher than state average
--- 55.0% higher than national average
#7. Greenville County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 67.6 per 100 people
--- 19.4% higher than state average
--- 56.1% higher than national average
#6. Pickens County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 74.9 per 100 people
--- 32.3% higher than state average
--- 73.0% higher than national average
#5. Spartanburg County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 75.0 per 100 people
--- 32.5% higher than state average
--- 73.2% higher than national average
#4. Greenwood County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 85.6 per 100 people
--- 51.2% higher than state average
--- 97.7% higher than national average
#3. Darlington County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 85.7 per 100 people
--- 51.4% higher than state average
--- 97.9% higher than national average
#2. Charleston County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 103.6 per 100 people
--- 83.0% higher than state average
--- 139.3% higher than national average
#1. Florence County
- Opioid dispensing rate: 125.0 per 100 people
--- 120.8% higher than state average
--- 188.7% higher than national average
