By Brian Mann, NPR
The deadliest phase of the street fentanyl crisis appears to have ended, as drug deaths continue to drop at an unprecedented pace. For the first time, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have now seen at least some recovery.
A new analysis of U.S. overdose data conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill also found that the decline in deaths began much earlier than once understood, suggesting improvements may be sustainable.
“This is not a blip. We are on track to return to levels of [fatal] overdose before fentanyl emerged,” said Nabarun Dasgupta, lead researcher on the project, which examined overdose records from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dasgupta’s team found deaths linked to fentanyl and other street drugs have already plunged in many states to levels not seen since 2020. That’s when the spread of fentanyl and the COVID pandemic dealt a one-two punch, triggering a catastrophic surge of fatal overdoses.
“After all this time looking at overdose deaths, this is what we’ve been hoping for,” Dasgupta said. “It has been a complete shock to see the numbers declining in the way they have been.”
This is an excerpt from the article published by NPR on March 11, 2025.