For the first time in 30 years, drug deaths are plunging at a rate that addiction experts say is hopeful but also baffling. In the past, even the most ambitious, well-funded efforts to slow drug deaths helped only a little bit. Reducing fatal overdoses by 8% or 9% was seen as a huge win, NPR reports. Now, deaths nationwide plunged more than 26% from the peak in June 2023, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That means roughly 30,000 fewer people a year are dying. Many states are seeing even bigger improvements of 30% to 50%. In some states, progress has been sustained since 2021 and 2022, which suggests this isn't a temporary blip. Naloxone, also known as Narcan, may be the game-changer. The Biden administration raced to make this medication, a nasal spray that quickly reverses opioid and fentanyl overdoses, far more widely available. People can buy it now over the counter without a prescription. It's distributed for free in many high-risk communities, and people using drugs often carry it.
Street fentanyl is incredibly potent. In many parts of the U.S., organizations that test fentanyl doses sold by drug dealers — often in pill form — have found a significant drop in purity. No one's sure why drug cartels have changed their mixtures. Some researchers believe law enforcement pressure in China, Mexico and the U.S. is disrupting the black market fentanyl supply chain. In most of the the U.S., gangs are selling complicated "cocktails" of street drugs. The amount of fentanyl appears to be dropping, while the amount of animal tranquilizers, such as medetomidine and xylazine, is rising. These chemicals are highly toxic. They cause skin wounds, severe withdrawal symptoms and other long-term health problems. Thirty years after the U.S. opioid crisis began — and a decade after fentanyl spread nationwide — the U.S. has made strides developing better and more affordable services for people experiencing addiction. Medications that reduce opioid cravings, including buprenorphine and methadone, are more widely available, in part because of insurance coverage provided by Medicaid. In many states, roughly $50 billion in opioid settlement money paid out by corporations is also starting to help. Going forward, it's unclear how the Trump administration's deep cuts to public health agencies and grants will affect this new addiction safety net.
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