Drug Overdose Deaths Drop in U.S. for First Time Since 1990

An estimated 68,577 people died from drug overdoses in 2018 according to provisional drug overdose death counts released today by the CDC NVSS. This is a slight decrease nationwide of 5.1% from 2017. “The reversal was slight enough that experts could not be sure whether it was the start of a trend or simply a blip (NYT, 07/17/19).”

Deaths involving any opioid were level in 2018, but deaths from overdoses involving fentanyl continued to increase as did deaths involving cocaine and other stimulants such as methamphetamine. Total drug overdose deaths increased in 17 states.