Overdose deaths in the U.S. plummeted by nearly 30,000 year-on-year – the largest decline ever recorded.
An estimated 80,391 people died from drugs in 2024, according to provisional Centers for Disease Control and prevention data. That marks a decrease of 27 percent from the 110,000 deaths reported in 2023.
“I would characterize this as a historically significant decrease in overdose deaths,” Brandon Marshall, a Brown University School of Public Health epidemiologist, told The Washington Post. “We’re really seeing decreases almost across the entire nation at this point.”
Deaths fell in all states but two: Nevada and South Dakota. They declined in all major categories of drug use, including stimulants and opioids.
The health agency credited President Donald Trump’s actions during his first term, saying that Congressional support since 2017 has enabled it to expand critical data systems and strengthen overdose prevention capacity across all states.
Notably, the overdose-reversing drug naloxone has become more widely available.
“These investments have empowered us to rapidly collect, analyze, and share actionable data — enabling communities to better understand the specific drivers of overdose in their area and tailor prevention strategies to meet their unique local needs,” the agency added. “Since late 2023, overdose deaths have steadily declined each month — a strong sign that public health interventions are making a difference and having a meaningful impact.”
However, overdose remains the leading cause of death for American adults between the ages of 18 to 44, the CDC noted, “underscoring the need for ongoing efforts to maintain this progress.”
Annual overdose deaths are still higher than they were before the Covid pandemic, and a recent study revealed that a quarter of children in the U.S. have at least one parent with a substance use disorder.
The announcement also comes following major cuts to federal funding and research at the hand of the Trump administration, sparking concern among researchers.
“I don’t see how it can be sustained, with the kinds of deep cuts that they’re taking to many of the programs that have been driving these reductions,” Traci C. Green, an epidemiologist at Brandeis University, told The New York Times.
“Now is not the time to take the foot off the gas pedal,” Dr. Daniel Ciccarone, a drug policy expert at the University of California, San Francisco, said.
With reporting by The Associated Press
