Louisiana improves drug overdose deaths to best national average
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Louisiana's drug overdose deaths fell 35.2% between 2023 and 2024, according to preliminary CDC data, an improvement due in part to a decline in opioid-related deaths.
The latest: President Trump signed a Sen. Bill Cassidy-sponsored bill last week to permanently OK harsher punishments for people who distribute fentanyl.
The big picture: Drug overdose deaths last year dropped their lowest annual level since 2019, according to the CDC data. Nationwide, overdose deaths dropped 27%.
- Experts point to several reasons for the declines, including the wider availability of naloxone, an over-the-counter drug that can reverse opioid overdoses, per CBS News.
- In New Orleans, health officials have made naloxone available at various public facilities, and through training for hospitality professionals.
Between the lines: Louisiana has one of the nation's highest age-adjusted death rates, a fact that contributes to the state's stagnant population growth, and drug overdose deaths contribute to that.
What we're watching: Louisiana will get about $70 million of the the $7.4 billion settlement from Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family for their role in creating the country's opioid epidemic, state Attorney General Liz Murrill has said.
- Those funds will be distributed across Louisiana parishes to support addiction treatment and recovery, WWL reports.
It's a lot of money, but treating opioid addiction is costly, too.
- One analysis concludes the average annual cost associated with each case of opioid abuse in Louisiana is about $432,000, writes Axios' Maya Goldman. Go deeper.
Axios' Rebecca Falconer contributed to this story.