U.S. Overdose Deaths Fall for Third Straight Year

U.S. overdose deaths fell for the third consecutive year in 2025, according to preliminary government data released Wednesday. About 70,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year, a decrease of about 14 percent from the previous year. The total is roughly the same as the number recorded in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was the longest decline in decades, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data showed. Declines appeared across multiple drug types, including fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine. Overdose deaths dropped in the vast majority of states.

Seven states recorded at least slight increases, including jumps of 10 percent or more in Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico.

U.S. overdose deaths had risen for decades but increased sharply during the pandemic, reaching nearly 110,000 in 2022. The rise was linked to social isolation and reduced access to addiction treatment. Deaths began to fall as the pandemic eased. Researchers have identified several possible contributing factors to the decline, including wider availability of naloxone, expanded addiction treatment, changes in drug use patterns, and funding from opioid lawsuit settlements.

Some studies suggest the pool of people at risk of overdose has shrunk as fewer teenagers start using drugs and many long-term users have died. Regulatory changes in China several years ago are also thought to have reduced the supply of chemicals used to make fentanyl.

Health and law enforcement officials have raised concerns about newer drugs detected in 2025. A federally funded toxicology lab in Horsham, Pennsylvania, identified 27 new drugs throughout 2025. Less than five months into 2026, the lab has already identified 23 new drugs.

One substance on the lab's radar is cychlorphine, a synthetic opioid described as up to 10 times stronger than fentanyl. It is being used as a cutting agent added to other illicit drugs without users' knowledge. Veterinary sedatives such as xylazine and medetomidine have also appeared in the supply; they can depress breathing, cause blackouts and lead to severe wounds.

"The drug supply continues to change and evolve," the lab's director said.

The Trump administration has cut some programs aimed at reducing overdose deaths and infections from drug use. Last month the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration notified grant recipients that the government would no longer fund test strips and kits used to detect fentanyl and xylazine in drugs.

One organization in Kentucky reported losing a $400,000 grant that had supported distribution of tens of thousands of fentanyl test strips. Officials have said they are shifting away from services that facilitate illicit drug use, including programs providing clean syringes and hotlines for overdose response.

A White House drug strategy plan spanning nearly 200 pages proposes using wastewater testing to monitor illegal drug use in real time and employing AI to identify smuggled substances or patients at high risk of overdose. "We're still in the midst of the overdose crisis," the director of federal policy at the Drug Policy Alliance told CBS News earlier in May.