Fatal drug overdoses down in the U.S. — but not in Utah and the West
Public health data shows overdose deaths across the U.S. have plummeted. But in Utah, there still remains an increase.
The decline in drug overdose deaths was first reported by NPR on Wednesday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention compiled national surveys that showed a 10.6% drop in overdose deaths.
"This is the largest decrease on record and the fifth consecutive month of recorded decreases," Rahul Gupta, the director of National Drug Control Policy in the White House, told NPR.
A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a map showing both predicted and reported numbers of overdose deaths in every state. The data compares two 12-month periods — one ending in April 2023 and the other in April 2024.
The numbers are provisional for each state, which means when the data is finalized, the shifts could look a little different.
The predictive data for Utah shows a 8.08% increase in overdose deaths — 722 deaths for the yearlong period ending in April 2024, and 668 deaths in the yearlong period ending in April 2023. The U.S. overall is predicted to see a 10% decline in overdose deaths.
Megan Broekemeier, drug overdose prevention research coordinator for the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, told the Deseret News over email that preliminary data from the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner shows a 16.7% increase in drug overdose deaths from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, compared to April 1, 2022, to March 2023.
Broekemeier said she could not say why this was happening, but fentanyl-involved overdoses were continually increasing.
"Utah's trends haven't aligned with national trends for some time. We plateaued while overdoses increased significantly at the national level, especially during the pandemic," said Broekemeier. "We haven't seen statistically significant changes in the rate yet, but it's possible if the increase in fentanyl-involved deaths continues at its current pace."
Three of the states bordering Utah — Nevada, Wyoming and Colorado — also show predicted increases: Nevada at 18.17%, Wyoming at 2.38% and Colorado at 3.89%.
Oregon and Washington also are expected to see an increase.
Data from the East tells a different story. It is predicted the District of Columbia will see a small increase in overdose deaths at less than 1%, but states in the East show decreases.
North Carolina shows a predicted decline of almost 23% from the yearlong period ending in April 2023 to the yearlong period ending in April 2024. New England — excluding Rhode Island (just under 10%) — shows predicted decreases in the teens.
The South also shows decreases. Alabama's decrease is more modest, predicted to be around 4%. One state in the Midwest shows an expected increase and that's Iowa at 1.1%.
"Even after these improvements, fatal overdoses remain unacceptably high in the U.S. — roughly 100,000 drug deaths a year," said NPR addiction correspondent Brian Mann.
The rise of fentanyl in Utah
In Utah, one drug accounted for nearly half of all accidental and undetermined drug overdose deaths in 2023 — fentanyl. Since 2019, fentanyl-involved overdose deaths have risen 437% in the state.
That is according to a report published from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. The report contained a graph showing data on drug overdose deaths from the Utah Office of Medical Examiner Database spanning from 2021 to 2023.
Most of the fatal overdoses involving fentanyl come from illegally manufactured fentanyl.
"Between 2021 and 2023, 84% of fentanyl-involved overdose deaths involved at least 1 other drug," said the report. "Methamphetamine was the most common drug, which was involved in 41.5% of all fentanyl overdose deaths. Other commonly involved drugs were gabapentin, alcohol, heroin and cocaine."
The Drug Enforcement Administration's Rocky Mountain Field Division had seized a record amount of fentanyl by the end of June this year — nearly 800,000 fentanyl pills. DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Pullen said in a release, "It's an unfortunate record to set, especially considering it took only a half-year to get there. The number of pills coming into Utah is obviously concerning. But this also shows that DEA and our partner agencies continue to disrupt the Sinaloa and Jalisco drug cartels based in Mexico."
In operations during the month of June alone, the division seized 170,000 fentanyl pills — that is the approximate equivalent to how many fentanyl pills were seized in all of 2023.
U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins for the District of Utah said in release, "Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat in our country, and we continue to see an increase in the number of pills seized in cases involving the distribution of fentanyl in Utah."
"One of the fentanyl distribution cases my office prosecuted this year included the seizure of about 200,000 fentanyl pills, which is worth nearly half a million dollars ($450,000)," continued Higgins. "Considering that more than half of those pills likely contain a lethal dose of fentanyl, the danger to our communities is staggering. My office is committed to stopping this poison from being distributed in our communities by prosecuting those responsible."
