Coast to coast, major U.S. cities are seeing measurable drops in drug overdose deaths. Public health officials welcome the news despite an inability to fully explain the decrease.

After years of rising, the tide may finally be turning on deadly drug overdoses in America.

Drug overdose deaths fell 12.7% in the 12 months ending in May, according to preliminary data released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“This is the largest recorded reduction in overdose deaths,” White House officials said in a statement. “And the sixth consecutive month of reported decreases in predicted 12-month total numbers of drug overdose deaths.”

It’s also the first time since early 2021 that the number of estimated drug overdose deaths for a 12-month period fell below 100,000, to 98,820.

It’s categorically good news. It’s also a bit puzzling to the public health experts who have been working for years to stop the upward trajectory of opioid deaths, driven primarily by fentanyl.

  • ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de
    18·
    26 days ago

    No. It’s that most drug users have become aware of narcan, how to use it, and that we started leaving narcan with addicts and their family members after running an overdose call to them, that pretty much all the police, fire, and ems all keep narcan on hand, and that anyone can walk into target and buy the stuff.

    Pretty much all the overdoses are from heroin and/or fentanyl. Narcan just gets misted up a nostril and about 2 to 5 minutes later it’s taken over the receptors that heroin/fentanyl bind to.

    So the drug problem isn’t lessening. We just started handing out the antidote to an overdose like candy on Halloween

    • Schmeckinger@lemmy.world
      4·
      26 days ago

      Better than nothing, since dead people can’t seek help. It’s always best to fight the source of the problem, but until that’s achieved you should fight the symptoms. The only 2 downsides ich can think about is that a solution for symptoms can make people more reckless and some people might fear the cost. But neither should be a consideration compared to the life of someone.

      • ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de
        3·
        26 days ago

        Fear the cost? It’s pretty cheap. Problem with fentanyl is that you can’t really stop the supply. You can make it from way too many different things and the dosage is so potent you just need a tiny amount. It’s not like meth where you can control one ingredient and it will cut off a ton of supply.