Regional trends in drug overdose deaths point to several simultaneous opioid epidemics rather than a single crisis, a new study co-authored by an Iowa State University associate professor reports. David Peters, an associate professor of sociology at ISU, and his co-authors conducted a county-level analysis of death certificates from across the U.S. and found regional differences in the kind of opioids that cause the most overdose deaths. The study found heroin-related overdoses were most likely to be found in the Midwest and Western states, especially in routes linking Texas to Chicago, which correspond to known routes used by cartels to smuggle heroin into the U.S. from Mexico. The heroin epidemic is one of three general opioid epidemics identified by the study authors, which they called “The Opioid Hydra.” Those differences should lead policymakers to consider multiple kinds of strategies to counter the epidemics, Peters said.