Overdose deaths in the United States dropped by nearly 17% between July 2023 and July 2024. However, over 93,000 people died of drug overdose in that period, more than the number of people who died from vehicle-caused accidents or firearms combined. This remains an urgent public health issue that requires evidence-based solutions.
- Public health interventions saved lives and must be expanded. Effective interventions include: the overdose-prevention drug naloxone, expanded harm reduction services such as fentanyl test strips, increased access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and drug education based in facts, not fear.
- Supply-side crackdowns led to new, more potent drugs entering the street drug supply. Fentanyl seizures, crackdowns on precursor drugs, and law enforcement effortsare not responsible for the drop in overdose deaths nor did they lead to less fentanyl in the drug supply. Supply-side crackdowns do not address the demand for drugs.
- Other factors that may have contributed to the decrease in overdose deaths include fewer people overall using street opioids, people smoking fentanyl instead of injecting it, and xylazine in the fentanyl drug supply leading some people to use less drugs less often.
- While overdose deaths are down overall, rates remained high or increased among Black, Latino, and Native American populations in some communities. Targeted, culturally-competent health solutions such as services in communities and in multiple languages are needed. Other groups remain at risk, including those who are unhoused, and people involved with the criminal legal system. These individuals tend to be some of the most vulnerable to overdose deaths. This is why elected leaders must make meaningful investments in housing, affordable and evidence-based treatment, as well as harm reduction and overdose prevention services.
Read our Fact Sheet: Health, Harm Reduction Approaches Pivotal to Decrease in National Drug Overdose Deaths
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