Huge drop in US overdose deaths, marking progress in opioid crisis

An estimated 80,391 people died from drug overdoses in 2024 -- a 27 percent drop from the 110,035 deaths recorded the year before and the lowest level since 2019. Deaths involving the synthetic opioid fentanyl -- the primary driver of the current epidemic -- also plunged, from roughly 76,000 in 2023 to 48,422 last year. Only two states, South Dakota and Nevada, saw increases. The decline came under former president Joe Biden, whose administration expanded access to addiction treatment and made...