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.

    • floo@retrolemmy.comEnglish
      2·
      38 minutes ago

      After spending 2 1/2 years locked in my apartment, I’m shocked that I didn’t overdose. What are you even talking about?

    • phdepressed@sh.itjust.works
      1·
      3 hours ago

      I wonder if this is just a matter of people not getting into the drugs at all because of lacking social connections. So not transitioning into addicts and overdose or something about narcan availability.

        • baldingpudenda@lemmy.world
          2·
          2 hours ago

          I saw an interview on YouTube of a heroin addict in Seattle, I believe. He talked about how he ended up on the streets from his addiction and talks about how it was when fent first arrived. People ODing left and right and the only people that survived where the ones with a super high tolerance. That was the first wave.

          How, once word got out that certain dealers had good shit that was killing ppl, everyone was looking for it. Once again killing more. Second wave.

          I don’t remember the rest of the interview. Something about how now regular heroin won’t do for the survivors, has created super high tolerance junkies who now need fent or they go through withdrawals. The biggest takeaway for me though was that he was clearly a smart person and very aware of his situation. He would like to quit, but was unable to. He then thanks the interviewer and crew for hearing him out and just walks into a dark alley.

          • Genius@lemmy.zip
            2·
            2 hours ago

            once word got out that certain dealers had good shit that was killing ppl, everyone was looking for it

            “This will literally kill you”

            “That’s metal as fuck bro sign me up”

          • Zenith@lemm.ee
            2·
            4 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·
              2 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