Drug overdose deaths drop

According to the data, 107,543 people died of a drug overdose in 2023, down from 111,029 in 2022. This marks a 3% drop.

The drop in overdose deaths were mostly attributable to a decrease in overdose deaths from synthetic opioids, especially fentanyl, according to NCHS researchers.

Opioid overdose deaths dropped 3.7% in 2023. However, deaths from cocaine increased 5% and deaths from methamphetamine increased 2%.

The report also noted there was uneven progress in overdose deaths across the United States. Many states saw decreases in deaths, with Nebraska, Kansas, Indiana, and Maine all experiencing a decline of at least 15%.

However, states including Alaska, Oregon, and Washington saw an increase in drug overdose deaths of at least 27% compared to 2022.

Discussion

Many experts praised the news that drug overdose deaths have declined but noted that the total number of overdose deaths remains elevated.

Deb Houry, CDC's CMO, said in a statement that the findings were "heartening" and a "testament to the hard work of all our partners in this effort and the work being done on the ground."

However, Houry said there's still work to do, and the "progress over the last 12 months should make us want to reinvigorate our efforts knowing that our strategies are making a difference."

Similarly, Brian Hurley, president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, said the group appreciated "the leveling of the overdose curve," but added that the total number of overdoses remained "historically high" and the gap between "those with addiction and those receiving treatment remains unacceptably wide."

"Universal access to addiction medications, when clinically appropriate, should be our minimum standard," Hurley said.

Beau Kilmer, co-director of the Rand Drug Policy Research Center, said he's "thrilled" drug overdose deaths didn't increase, but added "we're still talking about 107,000 people dying, which is completely unacceptable." Kilmer added that better data on drug use is needed to determine exactly what's driving the changes.

Experts noted that broad changes in the population could be affecting overdose death numbers. For example, many heroin users who switched to fentanyl have died, and if fewer people are using fentanyl, that could mean that fewer people are at risk, according to David Ciccarone, an addiction medicine professor at the University of California, San Francisco.

"Based on utterly anecdotal, street-level observations, I'll say there aren't a lot of newbies," Ciccarone said. "We're looking for them, but we don't see them. We don't see the 22-year-old who says, 'Hey, I want to use fentanyl.' This is an aging cohort."

As for the increase in overdose deaths from stimulants like meth, experts have called for more attention to the drug. Currently, there are no FDA-approved medications for treating meth addiction.

"The massive investment in reducing overdose deaths has been almost exclusively targeted to opioids," said Steven Shoptaw, director of the UCLA Center for Behavioral and Addiction Medicine. "There's been no systematic investment to reduce methamphetamine deaths," which Shoptaw said has hindered effective interventions from being more widely adopted.

Donald Burke, dean emeritus of the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, also noted that overdose death numbers may simply be returning to the same levels they would have been had they not increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"You can make a case that it's come down, but it's come down because the COVID impact is less now," Burke said. (Hoffman, New York Times, 5/15; Reyes, Los Angeles Times, 5/15; Weixel, The Hill, 5/15; Millman, Axios, 5/15; Mann, "Shots," NPR, 5/15)

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