Fatal drug overdoses showed a decreased in 2023, yet the positive outlook is tempered by regional increases, according to new data released this week from the CDC.
Most of the U.S. experienced a spike in fatal overdoses following the COVID-19 lockdowns that initiated in 2020. Although researchers are cautiously optimistic about the recent decline, data may suggest the decrease is simply resetting to pre-pandemic levels. Keith Humphreys, Esther Ting Memorial Professor at Stanford University, told Healio “the decline in overdose deaths may simply be an effect of COVID-19 ending,” adding, “We are still unfortunately on a longer term growth curve.”
The U.S. experienced a 3.1% decrease in drug overdose deaths in the 2023 calendar year and a 14.5% decrease in fatal overdoses in the 12 months before June of 2024. Matthew V. Kiang, assistant professor in the department of epidemiology and population health at Stanford University, said the findings have “raised hopes that the deadly dynamics of the crisis have fundamentally shifted.”
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