This investigation was inspired by the pre-print posted by Buchanich et al. In the following set of plots, we show trends in mortality from drug poisoning (overdoses) between 1979 and 2015. Figure 1 depicts the mortality rate for drug overdoses from 1979 to 2015. Data was obtained using CDC wonder.
Figure 1: Smoothed state-level trends in the mortality rate from drug poisoning, 1979-2013
Figure 2 shows all the smoothed trend lines in one plot for more direct comparison. The state label names are positioned at the last data point for each state which is why NH is so high; its observed rate is much higher than that estimated by the curve. You can hover over the lines to see the estimated mortality rate and toggle the visibility of the lines using the legend to the right (you can scroll through the legend to see all states).
Figure 2: Smoothed state-level trends in the number of deaths from drug poisoning, 1979-2013
To be more like the original paper, here is the first plot but instead of looking at the crude rate we consider the count of deaths.
Figure 3: Smoothed state-level trends in the number of deaths from drug poisoning, 1979-2013