Overdose in America: analysis reveals deaths rising in some regions even as US sees national decline

"Overdose deaths continued to rise in some communities across the US even as they declined nationally in 2024, according to an exclusive data analysis by the Guardian, which found wide geographical disparities in fatalities linked to the public health crisis. But when the CDC announced the decline in May of 2025, the downward trend in overdose fatalities had already begun to reverse in seven states, according to the Guardian's findings."

"The revelation comes just months after public health officials heralded a 27% drop in overdose deaths, a feat that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) attributed to factors including expanded access to the overdose-reversal drug naloxone and substance-use treatment, and shifts in the drug supply. This decline suggests more than 81 lives saved every day, the CDC stated in a press release. On average, 220 US residents still died of overdose each day in 2024."

"Public health experts were unsure of what factors led to the decline and whether the reduction in deaths was the beginning of a long-term trend. You can talk to five different experts, and you'll get five different explanations for why the deaths are coming down. Nobody really knows, said Andrew Kolodny, medical director for the opioid policy research collaborative at Brandeis University."

Overdose deaths declined nationally in 2024 but continued to rise in some US communities, creating wide geographical disparities in fatalities. The CDC reported a 27% national drop and attributed reductions to expanded naloxone access, increased substance-use treatment, and shifts in the drug supply, estimating more than 81 lives saved daily. Despite the national decline, an average of 220 residents died of overdose each day in 2024, and by May 2025 the downward trend had started to reverse in seven states. Public health experts offered multiple, differing explanations for the trends. Key data points analyzed included CDC overdose fatalities, medication distribution, and US Census data.

Read at www.theguardian.com