There were 30,000 fewer U.S. drug overdose deaths in 2024 than the year before — the largest one-year decline ever recorded.

There were 30,000 fewer U.S. drug overdose deaths in 2024 than the year before — the largest one-year decline ever recorded.

An estimated 80,000 people died from overdoses last year, according to provisional Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released Wednesday. That’s down 27% from the 110,000 in 2023.

The CDC has been collecting comparable data for 45 years. The previous largest one-year drop was 4% in 2018, according to the agency’s National Center for Health Statistics.

  • Zenith@lemm.ee
    31·
    7 hours ago

    It is but there is the other side to that coin, so many people have died from it people are genuinely scared off. Both my kids are in college and they’re both terrified of ingesting basically anything because it seems everything could have fent in it, most of their friends are the same way, they know a few kids who do coke and that’s about it, outside of kids selling scrips which will always be the case but illegal stuff off the street has gotten a bad enough rap that people aren’t willing to try or do it who aren’t already addicted

    • ToastedRavioli@midwest.social
      1·
      5 hours ago

      That is basically the point I was trying to make. I used to do all kinds of stupid stuff 10 years ago, and I would never touch anything today. Of anyone left who would try anything, so many of them have died that how many are left?

      I think even most people drawn towards substance abuse for one reason or another would be put off by the lethality of modern street drugs, especially when there are other options. Alcohol, cannabis, whatever