Fatal drug overdoses are falling — but not everywhere
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The fatal drug overdose rate fell 4% nationwide from 2022 to 2023, per new CDC data — but grew notably out West and up in Alaska.
Why it matters: Overdose deaths seem to be falling as pandemic-era isolation ebbs and access to life-saving medications like Naloxone grows.
Driving the news: The age-adjusted rate of U.S. fatal drug overdoses fell from 32.6 per 100,000 people in 2022 to 31.3 in 2023, the CDC says.
- The rate for synthetic opioids specifically — including fentanyl — dropped from 22.7 to 22.2.
Yes, but: States like Alaska, Oregon and Washington bucked the national trend, reporting major increases in their fatal OD rates.
- Even their absolute numbers are relatively high: 2023 saw 49.4 fatal overdoses per 100,000 people in Alaska, 40.8 in Oregon, and 42.4 in Washington, compared to 31.3 nationally.
Caveat: Some areas with big drops in their overdose rate still have relatively high absolute numbers.
- The fatal OD rate per 100,000 people in Maine, for instance, dropped 17.3% between 2022 and 2023 — but the Pine Tree State still had an overall rate of 44.9 per 100,000 people in 2023.
Between the lines: A recent report from specialty lab Millennium Health highlighted a "rising tide" of heroin co-use among fentanyl users, as well as fentanyl and stimulant co-use — part of the "fourth wave" of the overdose epidemic.
The bottom line: The broad national data shows a welcome trend, but the opioid crisis rages on in some pockets of the country like a wildfire stubbornly refusing to be snuffed out.
Editor's note: This story was corrected to reflect that the "fourth wave" refers to fentanyl and stimulant co-use (not fentanyl and heroin co-use).
