Sep 30, 2024 - News
Overdose deaths are falling fast in Florida, across U.S.
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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, but the number appears to be dropping rapidly.
- In the 12 months ending in April, there was a 10% national decline from the same period a year before, according to CDC data.
- In Florida, overdoses were down 13%.
Zoom in: Public health experts are stunned by how dramatically deaths are falling, NPR reports.
- “This is going to be the best year we've had since all of this started,” Keith Humphreys, a drug policy researcher at Stanford, told NPR.
Between the lines: We need more data and more research to determine what’s driving the decline in deaths, but experts have theories.
- Naloxone is more widely available, and more drug users carry the medication with them for safety.
- Many of the pandemic-era circumstances — like social isolation, increased stress, and people using drugs alone — are no longer factors.