For the first time in decades, drug overdose deaths in the US fell—by 10.6% while in certain states the decline was 20, and even 30%.
Identified in a survey conducted by the CDC, it interrupts a one-way trendline that has been rising higher and higher since 2019, and has given some scientists “so much hope.”
Those in the field of American medicine trying to combat and quantify the problem say that a 1-year drop is no reason “to spike the football,” and the work to try and establish what was the cause of the reduction is now ongoing.
NPR, covering the survey, says that the commonly available drug naloxone which can work to interrupt and diffuse an opioid overdose, has definitely played a factor.
Approved by the FDA in 2015, naloxone has quickly made its way into all manner of establishments such as libraries, YMCAs, and other community locales. GNN reported in Cincinnati that naloxone kits are being made available in vending machines.
The simple nasal spray is highly effective at reversing overdoses, and NPR spoke with one addict of street drugs like fentanyl in Vermont who said that he and other users regularly carry naloxone, and have built the habit of dosing in pairs or groups to make sure that if an overdose occurs, someone is there to help that person.
“For a while we were hearing about [drug deaths] every other day. When was the last one we heard about? Maybe two weeks ago? That’s pretty few and far between,” Mr. Donaldson, an addict from Burlington, told NPR.
Of particular note have been Washington, Ohio, and Missouri, where drug deaths have fallen 15%, 31%, and 34% respectively.
“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. “Today, I have so much hope.”
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Finegood said that they’ve tripled the amount of naloxone out in the community, and added that his department found in a survey that 85% of high-risk drug users now carry the overdose-reversal medication.
Other hypotheses include better drug enforcement and control of fentanyl coming across the southern border, and although other medications have increased in circulation, like xylazine, which is also toxic, it’s possible that fentanyl was just that much more lethal.
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Of all the public health workers and scientists NPR spoke with, agreement was unanimous that only the briefest of celebrations is merited in the hope these reductions can continue and become sustained since tens of thousands of Americans still overdose on illicit drugs every year.
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