newsweek.com
May 15, 2025
Drug overdose deaths in the U.S. fell sharply in 2024, with new government data showing the steepest year-over-year decline in five years.
Provisional figures released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that overdose fatalities dropped almost 27 percent nationwide, marking a potential shift in the ongoing opioid crisis.
Why It Matters
Drug overdoses have been a key point of focus for lawmakers in recent years, particularly alongside the rise of illicit fentanyl use in the country and increase in overdose deaths since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fentanyl is a highly potent synthetic opioid that is behind tens of thousands of drug deaths in the U.S., and while drug overdose deaths in the country have decreased, they are still not lower than pre-pandemic levels.
The Trump administration has made fentanyl a major priority and views it as a border security issue, cracking down on smuggling across the southwest and Canadian borders since January and engaging in tariff conversations with Chinese leaders over the drug. Chinese firms produce and export the precursor chemicals required to manufacture fentanyl, which often ends up crossing into the U.S. via Mexican cartels.
What To Know
The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics estimated that 80,391 people died from drug overdoses in 2024, down from 110,037 deaths the year before. According to the agency, annual drug overdose deaths are forecast to hit their lowest level since 2019.
Almost all states saw a decrease in the number of reported drug overdose deaths. Louisiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin saw reductions in drug overdose deaths of 35 percent or more—as did Washington, D.C.
By contrast, South Dakota and Nevada recorded slight increases compared to the same period in 2023.
The drop in deaths was driven largely by a sharp reduction in fatalities involving synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl. These deaths fell from 76,282 in 2023 to 48,422 in 2024.
Overdose deaths involving other drug classes also declined. Psychostimulants, such as methamphetamine, dropped from 37,096 to 29,456. Cocaine decreased from 30,833 to 22,174, and natural or semisynthetic opioids decreased from 10,511 to 8,006.
The CDC’s figures remain provisional and are subject to change as additional data is reported to the National Vital Statistics System. The data includes both confirmed and predicted overdose deaths based on reporting trends.
Overdoses often involve more than one substance, and in some cases, the specific drugs involved are not identified. As a result, the sum of drug-specific deaths may not equal the overall total.
What People Are Saying
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement on Wednesday: “CDC remains steadfast in its commitment to prevent substance use disorders before they begin, expanding access to treatment, and strengthening recovery pathways to build a healthier future for all Americans.”
Dr. Scott E. Hadland, a professor at the Mass General Hospital for Children and Harvard Medical School, told Newsweek: “The decline likely reflects the impact of a few public health interventions: broad distribution of naloxone, increased access to addiction treatment, including through telemedicine, which is a new approach and expanding, and potentially also the use of fentanyl test strips. Funds from opioid lawsuit settlements have also been directed toward prevention and recovery programs, which is likely contributing. The other explanation, though, is that some of this might reflect a reversion to trends we started to see just prior to COVID, when there was a leveling-off of overdose deaths due to the above interventions.”
He added: “Sustaining this progress will require continued investment in harm reduction and treatment. Proposed federal funding cuts to programs like naloxone distribution and community outreach could jeopardize these gains. Large Medicaid cuts could be especially problematic, since Medicaid is a major insurer of addiction treatment services, especially among young people. And, there’s always the strong possibility of the emergence of new, even more potent synthetic opioids—just like when fentanyl entered the illicit drug supply over a decade ago and caused an unprecedented number of deaths.”
Dr. Silvia S. Martins, a professor of epidemiology and director of the Substance Use Epidemiology Unit at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, told Newsweek: “I believe drug overdoses decreased due to a multipronged effort including: increased availability of naloxone, expanded access to MOUD treatment, shifts in the illicit drug supply market, shifts in how people use drugs, and availability of the opioid lawsuit settlement funds to fund prevention and treatment. I expect this decrease to slow down or stop due to an expected decrease in federal funding, a decrease in the public health workforce, and a shift from strategies that are working. I hope the federal government realizes now is not the time to steer away from these strategies that work or to decrease funding.”
She added: “I believe Nevada experiencing an increase in overdose deaths is due mainly to a surge in fentanyl use as reported by an Opioid Task Force in Nevada and a lack of appropriate treatment. This task force reported that overdose rates in Nevada were higher in areas with higher levels of unemployment, higher risk of housing instability and lack of access to substance use and mental health treatment. The decreases in West Virginia can be attributed to the multipronged approach adopted in the state. The state implemented in recent years community interventions including naloxone distribution, quick response teams, stigma reduction efforts and increased treatment programs.”
Beau Kilmer, co-director of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center, California, told Newsweek: “To understand what’s happening with fentanyl supply, we need better data on prices. If there has been a reduction in supply, we should see an increase in the purity-adjusted price.”
Dr. Joshua Lynch, a professor of emergency & addiction medicine at the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, New York, told Newsweek: “Many areas of the U.S. continue to struggle with access to treatment for opioid use disorder, particularly those with more rural populations. This could include easy access to naloxone and medication for addiction treatment like buprenorphine or methadone. Additionally, access to health care in general and Medicaid varies across the U.S. and may have contributed as well.”
He added: “West Virginia has adopted a multidisciplinary approach to the opioid epidemic, investing in many areas such as increased access to treatment, both inpatient and outpatient, increased access to naloxone, widespread education on opioids and how to support those in recovery, and supporting those in recovery with career training and other supports. West Virginia demonstrates that with a sustained, multidisciplinary approach that includes stakeholders from many professions, opioid overdose reduction can be achieved.”
Regina LaBelle, a professor at Georgetown University, Washington D.C., who also served as acting director of The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in the Biden Administration, told Newsweek: “We can’t isolate the exact reasons behind the drop but we do know that the strategies that have been employed over the past several years appear to be working. Prevention overdose deaths by expanding naloxone distribution, improving access to medications to treat opioid use disorder, expanding recovery supports for people in recovery from a substance use disorder—all of these efforts were undertaken in the past few years and have made a difference in reducing overdose deaths.”
What Happens Next
The CDC updates overdose death statistics monthly, offering policymakers, health officials and researchers a tool for tracking progress in combating drug-related mortality. While the decline in deaths is encouraging, public health experts caution that the crisis is ongoing.
Updates 5/15/25, 9:06 a.m. and 12:08 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Dr. Silvia S. Martins, Beau Kilmer, Dr. Joshua Lynch and Regina LaBelle.
https://www.newsweek.com/states-sharpest-drops-drug-overdose-deaths-2072556