A new federal report has revealed a significant decline in drug overdose deaths across the United States, marking the lowest rates seen in five years.
The provisional report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics shows that nationwide drug overdose deaths fell from 110,037 in 2023 to 80,391 in 2024, representing a 26.9% decrease.
This reduction signifies the lowest figure of annual drug overdose deaths since 2019.
Research indicates this is the second consecutive year of decline following a period of year-over-year increases during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Experts are cautiously optimistic about these declines, signaling a potential return to the overdose death rates experienced prior to the pandemic.
Dr. Petros Levounis, a professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, who was not involved in the report, noted, “We should have a guarded enthusiasm here because what we’re seeing is almost the return to the overdose death rates that we had before the pandemic.”
He added that it appears the corrections have been made from the bump in overdose deaths observed during the pandemic years.
The report highlighted the most substantial decline in deaths linked to synthetic opioids, particularly fentanyl, which decreased from 76,282 in 2023 to 48,422 in 2024.
Additionally, fatalities from psychostimulants like methamphetamine and natural or semi-synthetic drugs such as morphine also saw reductions.
States across the nation reported significant decreases in drug overdose deaths, with Louisiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C. all seeing declines of 35% or more between 2023 and 2024.
However, states like South Dakota and Nevada experienced slight increases in overdose deaths during the same period.
Dr. Levounis also urged public health officials to monitor Alaska, where opioid overdoses have consistently risen since 2018, with rates reaching historic levels due to a surge in fentanyl usage.
The CDC emphasizes that fentanyl is significantly more potent than heroin and morphine, posing fatal risks even in small doses.
Moreover, users often cannot detect if other drugs are laced with dangerous levels of fentanyl.
Experts attribute the decrease in overdose deaths to several factors, one of which is the increased availability and use of naloxone, an overdose reversal drug.
In March 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Narcan, an easy-to-administer nasal spray version of naloxone, for over-the-counter use.
Naloxone quickly restores breathing in individuals experiencing an opioid overdose, although its effects are temporary, and additional doses may be necessary.
Harm reduction advocates and health experts have been emphasizing easier access to naloxone as part of a broader strategy to prevent overdose deaths in the U.S.
Dr. Allison Lin, an addiction psychiatrist at the University of Michigan Medical School who was not part of the report, noted that there has also been an increase in the use of medications to treat opioid use disorder alongside heightened public awareness regarding the dangers of opioid use.
“These are known, research-backed, lifesaving measures,” Dr. Lin stated.
She emphasized the significant effort invested by communities and governmental bodies in prevention and overdose education over the past decade.
While the new data is encouraging, Dr. Lin cautioned against complacency, asserting that it is premature to declare the overdose crisis over in the U.S.
“It’s nice to celebrate all the hard work that people have been putting in; we’re starting to see some rewards from that,” she expressed.
However, she added, “It’s not the time to take the foot off the gas pedal,” highlighting the importance of ongoing efforts to decrease overdose death rates in the future.
image source from：https://abcnews.go.com/Health/us-drug-overdose-deaths-fell-27-year-reaching/story?id=121744099
