Hopeful news! Drug Overdose Deaths in 2024 Decreased 27%

Two new reports from the CDC describe a significant decline in drug overdose deaths in 2024 accompanied by a reduction in fentanyl-involved nonfatal overdose emergency room visits beginning in mid-2023. It’s too early to conclude these data describe a long term trend but the news is encouraging.

The provisional CDC report released May 2025 indicates there were an estimated 80,391 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. during 2024, a 26.9% decrease from 2023. Decreases were significant for deaths related to opioids, psychostimulants such as methamphetamine, anemia cocaine. Several states noted declines of 35% or more.

In another report in May published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report visits to emergency departments for nonfatal fentanyl overdoses declined by 11% per quarter from mid-2023 through the first quarter of 2024. The decline was seen across all age and ethnic groups. Not surprisingly, the highest rate of visits for nonfatal fentanyl overdoses was among men aged 25-34 years. As a sidebar, the authors commented that nearly two-thirds of fatal overdoses from any drug had at least one missed “opportunity for intervention” such as a history of a previous overdose (13.5%) or having a mental health diagnosis (28.7%). Notably less than 25% of fatal overdoses had documentation that naloxone (Narcan) was administered.

Hopefully these data reflect the beginning of a sustained downward trend in drug overdoses, fatal and nonfatal. The availability of naloxone and improved recognition of substance use disorders as well as effective medical treatment are potential explanations. Obviously the numbers are still too high. Now is the time to seize the “opportunities for intervention.”