Overdose deaths in US continue downward trend, giving experts hope | Drug News

Experts aren't sure what's driving fewer overdose deaths, but they're confident the decline is sustainable.

Drug overdose deaths appear to be continuing to decline in the United States, giving experts hope that the country is seeing sustained improvement in the still-ongoing epidemic.

About 97,000 people died of drug overdoses in the 12 months ended June 30, according to preliminary data released Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's 14 percent fewer than the estimated 113,000 in the last 12 months.

“This is a pretty stunning and rapid reversal in drug overdose death numbers,” Brandon Marshall, a Brown University researcher who studies overdose trends, told The Associated Press.

Overdose death rates began rising steadily in the 1990s due to opioid painkillers, followed by waves of deaths led by other opioids such as heroin and, more recently, fentanyl. Preliminary data had indicated a slight decline in 2023 and the new data suggests the downward trend continues.

“This appears to be substantial and sustainable,” Marshall said. “I think there’s real reason for hope here.”

It's not clear what caused the decline, but experts suggest a combination of possible factors. Some said during the COVID-19 pandemic it has been difficult to get addiction treatment and people have been socially isolated, leading to a meteoric rise in drug overdose deaths — and partly explaining the decline we are now seeing .

Nevertheless, the number of overdose deaths remains well above pre-pandemic levels.

Experts also said the latest numbers could be the result of years of efforts to increase the availability of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone and other addiction treatments. Such efforts will likely be supported by resources provided by settling opioid-related lawsuits against drug manufacturers, wholesalers, and pharmacies. Compensation funds have been launched in small towns and cities across the U.S., and some have begun spending the money on naloxone, among other measures.

In the latest CDC data, reports of overdose deaths declined in 45 states, but there were increases in Alaska, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

The most dramatic declines were in North Carolina and Ohio, but CDC officials warn that some jurisdictions have experienced delays in sending death certificates to federal statisticians. The CDC tried to explain the incomplete death records, but the decline in some places may ultimately prove not to be as dramatic as the early numbers suggest.

Another limitation of the preliminary data is that it does not describe in detail what is happening in different groups of people. Recent research has found that overdose deaths have increased disproportionately among Black and Native Americans.