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5h ago

U.S. Overdose Deaths Fall to About 70,000 in 2025, Marking a Third Straight Annual Decline

The drop reflects broader harm-reduction, expanded treatment, and shifts in drug use.

FILE - The overdose-reversal drug Narcan is displayed during training for employees of the Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), Dec. 4, 2018, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
FILE - Jonathan Dumke, a senior forensic chemist with the Drug Enforcement Administration, holds vials of fentanyl pills at a DEA research laboratory on April 29, 2025, in Northern Virginia. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
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Overview

  • Preliminary CDC data released Wednesday show a 14% year-over-year decline to nearly 70,000 overdose deaths in 2025, the longest multi-year drop in decades.
  • Deaths fell across fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine categories, with most states improving while Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico recorded notable increases.
  • Researchers credit wider access to naloxone, more addiction treatment, opioid-settlement funding, and earlier curbs on fentanyl precursor chemicals in China.
  • Forensic early-warning labs reported 27 new substances in 2025 and 23 more identified early in 2026, including cychlorphine, a synthetic opioid reported to be up to 10 times stronger than fentanyl.
  • SAMHSA told grantees last month it will no longer fund drug-checking strips and similar supplies, a shift away from harm-reduction tools that grieving families and public-health experts say could slow or reverse gains.