Less Overdosing, Thanks to Both Efforts and Circumstance

Drug fatalities have been steadily declining for seven consecutive months across the United States, thanks to expanded treatment, prevention, education efforts, and, surprisingly, changes in the drug supply itself, thus influencing how people are using drugs.

“We have been seeing for a while fentanyl changing: how much fentanyl is in the supply, the kinds and the form,” explains Traci Green, who leads a drug-checking program in Massachusetts that collects samples from harm reduction groups and law enforcement agencies.

The government’s crackdown on Mexican cartels and international supply chains led to the decline in fentanyl potency since 2021. The decline in drug fatalities is also due to a broader distribution of overdose reversal medications like Narcan, an uptick in prescriptions for medication that suppresses opioid cravings, campaigns warning the public about fentanyl-tainted counterfeit pills, and harm reduction programs that offer sterile syringe exchanges and fentanyl test strips. During the 12-month period that ended in June 2024, there were 16,000 fewer drug-related fatalities compared with the same period a year earlier, a projected drop of 14.5%. Data suggests that in many states, nonfatal overdose rates are also declining.