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 prelimin 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.
In Cleveland, for example, monthly overdose deaths in the first three months of this year fell by 40% compared to last year, according to the city’s public health director, Dr. David Margolius.
It’s unclear what prompted the sudden, unexpected decline. Overdose reduction strategies like increased availability of Narcan, a rescue medication that can reverse opioid overdoses, were in use long before the abrupt drop.
“We’ve been doing the things we’re doing for over 10 years. I’d love to say it’s finally working,” said Dr. Joan Papp, an emergency physician at Cleveland’s MetroHealth Medical Center. “But boy, I don’t know. I wish I knew so I could bottle it.”
One potential factor at play: People are no longer using drugs in isolation as they did during the height of the pandemic. Now, they’re more likely to use around other people who could call 911 or give a dose of Narcan.
