Fatal drug overdoses drop in Georgia
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After years of watching fatal drug overdoses tear apart families and communities, researchers are seeing a glimmer of hope.
The latest: Fatal drug overdoses, which fell in the U.S. last year for the first time since before the pandemic, are continuing to decline, according to preliminary CDC data.
Why it matters: Overdoses kill more than 100,000 people a year nationwide, but the number appears to be dropping rapidly.
- The most recent CDC data, which ends in April, shows that the number of overdose deaths is falling faster than the 3% decrease between 2022 and 2023.
By the numbers: CDC data looks at rolling totals over 12-month periods.
- In the 12 months ending in April, there was an average 10% decline nationwide from the same period a year before. Georgia saw a 13% drop, according to the data.
Zoom in: Dr. Justine Welsh, an associate professor at Emory University School of Medicine, said likely reasons for the decline include greater access to care and harm-reduction strategies like fentanyl testing strips and naloxone.
- Earlier this year, Gov. Brian Kemp signed "Wesley's Law," a measure that requires local school systems to carry naloxone.
- States are also viewing the overdose epidemic as a public health concern rather than a criminal justice problem and recognizing the efficacy of prevention and treatment rather than incarceration.
Zoom out: In addition, many of the pandemic-era circumstances — like social isolation, increased stress, and people using drugs alone — are no longer factors.
State of play: Loosening of telehealth restrictions that allowed people greater access to medication to treat opioid use disorder like buprenorphine also likely helped — and are at risk of being repealed, Welsh said.
Caveat: Researchers say more data is needed to gauge what's working best. And Welsh cautions that we're seeing very early signs of progress.
- "While I remain optimistic that this trend will continue, we still need to be investing substantial resources to reduce future overdoses and address the rising rates of substance use and other mental health disorders."