On the mean streets of America, there’s something weird and wonderful going on. In some states, drug overdose deaths have dropped by up to 30%. No one knows the exact reason.
The massive decline in ODs is probably due to a combination of factors. One of the main reasons for the decline in overdoses is the wide availability of naloxone. This life-saving drug can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, including heroin, prescription opioids, and fentanyl. Naloxone was approved for over-the-counter sales in March 2023. The FDA approval was not the cause of the decline in overdose deaths.
Many in law enforcement doubt the impact of the current interdiction efforts.
The decline in overdose deaths has never been seen before. Some addiction experts believe we have finally turned the corner in the OD crisis.
Dr. Keith Humphreys of Stanford University, a highly respected researcher in drug policy and research on the subject at a national level, said that “the trends are positive.” This is going to the be best year since we started.
NPR:
Dr. Daniel Ciccarone is a physician at the University of California San Francisco and an addiction researcher. He said that a debate has already begun over what caused the improvement, and what could happen next.
This is where we will all disagree. “Everyone is going to claim that their actions are what led to the decline,” said he.
Ciccarone said that the improvements are real for the moment: “What’s fascinating is the pace at which they happen.”
Dennis Cauchon, an activist for harm reduction, said that this year’s overdose deaths in Ohio are down by 31 percent. The deaths dropped dramatically. “The data have never moved so fast.”
Ohio’s chapter of Harm Reduction released a statement that said, “While mortality data for the year 2024 are incomplete and subject to changes, Ohio has now experienced a ninth consecutive month with a historic and unanticipated drop in overdose death.”
Not everyone is jumping with joy. Street Drug Analysis Lab at UNC, an initiative of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, warns people not to get too excited about the recent drop.
We’ve been there before. The excitement about dips in indicators of overdose is either transient or can be explained by data artifacts. Pardon our skepticism.
We must be clear: too many of the people we care about are still dying due to overdose. It’s too late to reduce the number of overdose deaths.
Yet, -15% to -20% decreases in overdose would be unprecedented. To our knowledge, no public health intervention in the United States has ever achieved this benchmark. For example, NIDA spent $343.7 million (!) to show that it was possible to reduce overdoses by 9% in four states in one year. A reduction of this magnitude across the entire country translates to a very strong acting force. Something has changed. And that this is happening without central coordination is a big deal. It had major implications for the way we think about overdose prevention interventions.
“A drop of fifteen to twenty percent is a huge number and has a tremendous impact”, said Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta of the University of North Carolina, a street drug expert. Dr. Dasgupta calls for more research to maintain the momentum created by reduced drug overdose death rates.
If interventions are driving this decline then let’s increase the intensity of those interventions.
You can’t make an addict enter rehab by throwing money at it. Addicts only seek help when they have reached rock bottom and feel receptive to the idea of rehab.
It’s obvious that “rock bottom” is grave for many addicts. Even if they receive treatment, they are likely to relapse and put themselves at risk.
It’s good to hear that overdose deaths are on the decline. We need to wait to see if it is a temporary improvement or if something is amazing happening.
