NC overdose deaths decline
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Drug overdose deaths last year dropped to their lowest annual level since 2019, and decreased in almost every state, according to preliminary CDC data.
- There were an estimated 80,391 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. last year — a drop of of 26.9% from the 110,037 deaths estimated in 2023.
Why it matters: Fatal overdoses initially rose during the COVID pandemic, but have been falling since 2023, driven in part by wider availability of naloxone, which reverses an opioid overdose, per CBS News.
By the numbers: Overdose deaths involving opioids declined from an estimated 83,140 in 2023 to 54,743 in 2024, per provisional CDC National Center for Health Statistics.
- Overdose deaths involving cocaine and psychostimulants (like methamphetamine) decreased too.
- In North Carolina, close to 4,000 residents died of overdoses in 2023. In 2024, that number was less than 3,000 deaths — a decrease of more than 29%.
Zoom out: North Carolina is part of a $26 billion opioid settlement with drugmakers over the companies' alleged involvement in stoking the nation's opioid crisis.
- Around $1.4 billion of that is for North Carolina, which has in turn funneled the majority of the funds to local governments.
What to watch: Experts warn a Trump administration budget proposal that would cut health services threatens this decline.