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US Drug Overdose Deaths (2022-2025)
The trend of overdose fatalities in the United States over the last three years showing a steady decline from the pandemic peak.
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Drug overdose deaths drop in United States for third year in a row
Experts cite range of factors as overdose deaths drop to nearly 70,000 in 2025, a 14 percent decline over the previous year.The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released data showing that deaths from drug overdoses fell by nearly 14 percent in 2025, continuing a third consecutive year of decline.The data released on Wednesday shows that the US saw nearly 70,000 predicted overdose deaths in 2025, down from more than 81,000 in 2024.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3As fentanyl crisis evolves, experts say US is still ‘behind the eight ball’list 2 of 3Amid Trump threats, what has the US’s ‘war on drugs’ achieved in 50 years?list 3 of 3Was Nicolas Maduro ‘flooding’ the US with fentanyl, as White House claims?end of listThe downward trend has been welcomed in the US, which has struggled with a devastating overdose crisis fuelled largely by synthetic opioids.Overdose deaths peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic, with 110,000 recorded in 2022, a surge associated with social isolation and obstacles to accessing treatment services.“I’m cautiously optimistic that this represents really a fundamental change in the arc of the overdose crisis,” Brandon Marshall, a Brown University researcher who studies overdose trends, told The Associated Press news service.Experts have attributed the decline to various factors, such as wider availability of the overdose treatment naloxone, commonly sold under the brand Narcan.Testing strips that can detect fentanyl are also more common now, and regulatory changes in China have limited access to the chemicals used to manufacture the drug.While overdose deaths declined in most US states in 2025, seven states saw increases. In Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico, overdose deaths increased by 10 percent or more.The administration of President Donald Trump, however, has pointed to the decrease overall as validation of its crackdown on drug trafficking. In a statement earlier this month, the White House said that drug overdoses continue to be one of the country’s “most urgent public health challenges”.That theme was reprised on Wednesday by Kash Patel, Trump’s appointee as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).In a social media post, Patel asserted that his agency has seized enough fentanyl to kill more than 200 million Americans in 2025 and 2026. That sum amounts to more than half of the country’s population.Former Attorney General Pam Bondi previously stated that, during Trump’s fir...
Overdose deaths fall for 3rd straight year, CDC data shows
May 13, 2026 / 12:13 PM EDT / CBS/AP Add CBS News on Google About 70,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year — about 14% fewer than the previous year, according to preliminary government data.It was the third straight annual drop, making it the longest decline in decades, according to federal data released Wednesday. The 2025 total is about the same as the tally in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.Declines were seen across a number of drug types, including fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine. Overdose deaths fell in the vast majority of states, although seven saw at least slight increases, including jumps of 10% or more in Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico, the preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed."I'm cautiously optimistic that this represents really a fundamental change in the arc of the overdose crisis," said Brandon Marshall, a Brown University researcher who studies overdose trends.But the number of Americans dying from overdoses is still high, and deaths declined at a slower pace last year. A number of things could cause deaths to rise again — including government policy changes or a shift in the drug supply, Marshall and other researchers say."If deaths are going down rapidly, that means they can increase just as rapidly if we take our foot off the gas," Marshall said. Overdoses rose during the height of the pandemicU.S. overdose deaths were generally rising for decades, but they shot up dramatically during the pandemic, peaking at nearly 110,000 in 2022. The pandemic spike was associated with social isolation and difficulties accessing addiction treatment.Deaths declined as the pandemic waned. Researchers have pointed to numerous possible factors: an increase in the availability of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone, expanded addiction treatment, shifts in how people use drugs, and the growing impact of billions of dollars in opioid lawsuit settlement money.Some research also suggests the number of people likely to overdose has been shrinking, as fewer teens take up drugs and many illicit drug users have died. Another theory suggests regulatory changes in China a few years ago appear to have diminished the availability of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl.The nation's decades-long overdose epidemic has played out at different paces in different parts of the country, due at least in part to differences in the illicit drug supply and what people are using. The death increases last year in ...
U.S. Overdose Deaths Decrease for Third Consecutive Year in 2025
Provisional data from CDC's National Center for Health Statistics indicate there were an estimated 69,973 drug overdose deaths in the United States during 2025-a decrease of almost 14% from the 81,313 deaths estimated in 2024. Almost all states across the nation saw decreases; Rhode Island, New York, North Carolina, Alabama and Vermont experienced declines of 25% or more. In contrast, New ...
Decline in U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths Driven By Big Drop in Fentanyl ...
An estimated 69,973 drug overdose deaths occurred in 2025, compared to 81,313 deaths estimated in 2024. Drug overdoses in the U.S. peaked in 2023 and 2022, causing nearly 110,000 fatalities annually.
