In Vermont, there’s been a 22% decline in drug deaths in 2024. In King County, Washington, the first half of the year saw a 15% drop. Ohio? Thirty-one percent fewer overdose deaths so far. And Missouri had a 34% decrease in the second quarter.. [Nice News]
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Those places have all been hotspots in the opioid epidemic, and the sudden, swift declines seen this year could indicate a national street drug death drop of around 15% — higher than the CDC’s recent estimate of 10.6%, a rate already being celebrated as a win.
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That’s according to Nabarun Dasgupta, an expert at the University of North Carolina. He recently released an analysis of the “unprecedented” numbers, which could correspond to 20,000 fewer deaths in 2024. “This is exciting,” Dr. Nora Volkow, head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, told NPR. “This looks real. This looks very, very real.”
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It’s not just researchers who are seeing the trend: The people working to fight the epidemic on the ground are noticing changes, too. “A year ago when overdose deaths continued to rise, I was really struggling with hope,” said Brad Finegood, who directs the overdose crisis response in Seattle. He added: “Today, I have so much hope.”

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