A Record Drop in Drug Overdose Incidents Offers Hope

Public health data shows, for the first time in decades, an impressive and encouraging 10% drop in the number of drug overdose deaths across the United States, partly due to successful interventions with users.

“In the states that have the most rapid data collection systems, we’re seeing declines of 20%, 30%,” says Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta, an expert on street drugs at the University of North Carolina, who was among the first researchers to detect a trend linking the drop in state-level mortality numbers and similar steep declines in emergency room visits due to overdoses.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has compiled national surveys showing an unprecedented decline in drug deaths of 10.6%, and there will be an even more significant decline in drug deaths once federal surveys are updated. Data from the Vermont Department of Health shows a 22% decline in drug deaths in 2024. As for King County, Washington, deaths linked to all drugs have dropped by 15% in the first half of 2024, and fatal overdoses caused by street fentanyl by 20%. In Ohio this year, overdose deaths are down 31%. In Missouri, after dropping by 10% last year, preliminary data show drug deaths have fallen 34% in the second quarter of 2024. “If interventions are what’s driving this decline, then let’s double down on those interventions.”