The number of drug overdose deaths in the United States has fallen sharply for the first time in decades, according to public health data.
New statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show an unprecedented 10.6% drop in drug-related deaths, NPR reports. Additionally, experts expect an even bigger drop when data from the state level is updated.
“In the states that have the fastest data collection systems, we’re seeing a drop of twenty percent, thirty percent,” said Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta, a street drug expert at the University of North Carolina.
“What makes it fascinating is the speed at which it happens,” added Dr. Daniel Ciccarone, a physician and addiction researcher at the University of California, San Francisco.
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Stock image of a tablet. Getty Images US drug overdose deaths hit new record in 2021 with 108,000 lives lost: CDC report
The decline is also consistent with a decrease in drug-related emergency room visits.
Researchers believe that, although the cause is not entirely clear, one change that may have contributed to the decline is the availability of medical treatments for fentanyl addiction, as well as the wider availability of naloxone — a drug that immediately reverses opioid overdoses.
“The expansion of naloxone and drugs for opioid addiction disorders — those strategies have worked,” said Dr. Volkow of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
“We’ve almost tripled the amount of naloxone in the community,” Brad Finegood, who leads Seattle’s overdose crisis response, told the newspaper.
While this decline is a step in the right direction, experts insist there is still work to be done to minimize drug overdose deaths in the country. The CDC reports that there were still 107,543 drug overdose deaths in 2023.
“I think we have to be careful when we get optimistic and see a slight decline in overdose deaths,” Dan Salter, who heads the federal drug interdiction program in the Atlanta-Carolinas region, told NPR. “The last thing we want to do is score the ball.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the SAMHSA Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education