After years of rising, the tide may finally be turning on fatal drug overdoses in America.
According to preliminary data released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, overdose deaths fell 12.7% in the 12 months through May.
“This is the largest decline in overdose deaths on record,” White House officials said in a statement. “And the sixth consecutive month of reported declines in projected total 12-month overdose deaths.”
It’s also the first time since early 2021 that the number of estimated 12-month overdose deaths has fallen below 100,000, to 98,820.
It’s certainly good news. It’s also a little disconcerting for public health experts who have been working for years to halt the upward trend in opioid deaths, driven primarily by fentanyl.
In Cleveland, for example, the number of monthly overdose deaths fell 40% in the first three months of this year compared with last year, according to the city’s public health director, Dr. David Margolius.
It’s unclear what’s causing the sudden, unexpected drop. Strategies to reduce overdoses, such as increasing the availability of Narcan, an emergency medication that can reverse opioid overdoses, were in place long before the abrupt drop.
“We’ve been doing the things we’ve been doing for 10-plus years. I’d like to say it’s finally working,” said Dr. Joan Papp, an emergency physician at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland. “But man, I don’t know. I wish I knew so I could bottle it.”
One possible factor: People are no longer using drugs in isolation, as they did during the height of the pandemic. Now, they’re more likely to use them around other people who can call 911 or administer a dose of Narcan.
Drug Overdose Deaths
Drug overdose deaths fell in 41 states in the 12 months through May 2024, resulting in a 12.7% drop in the national death toll
Seattle officials echoed the national trend.
“For the first time in years, we’re seeing a significant decline in overdose deaths,” Brad Finegood, who oversees Seattle’s overdose and addiction programs, said at Thursday’s briefing.
The city saw a 22 percent decline in overdose deaths in the first nine months of this year compared with last year. Nonfatal overdoses also declined, he said.
“That’s an extremely significant drop,” Finegood said.
He said that in Seattle, about 85 percent of people who use drugs carry Narcan.
“Even though we know they can’t reverse their own overdose, they’re often the first on the scene and they can reverse an overdose that could be fatal and bring someone back to life,” he said.