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Fentanyl deaths may be plummeting under trump, but he doesn't have anything to do with it. NPR proves that it's because of the most vulnerable users already being dead, and the ones that are left alive are using fentanyl more skillfully and carrying narcan around
Trump literally can't do anything right
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/24/nx-s1-5328157/fentanyl-overdose-death-drugs
Reporter's notebook: 8 theories why fentanyl deaths are plummeting
Over the past six months, I've been tracking something really cool and mysterious happening on American streets. For the first time in 30 years, drug deaths are plunging at a rate that addiction experts say is hopeful — but also baffling.
In the past, even the most ambitious, well-funded efforts to slow drug deaths only helped a little bit. Reducing fatal overdoses by 8% or 9% was seen as a huge win.
But now, deaths nationwide plunged more than 26% from the peak in June 2023, according to the latest preliminary data gathered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That means roughly 30,000 fewer people a year are dying. Many states are seeing even bigger improvements of 30% to 50%. In some states, progress has been sustained since 2021 and 2022, which suggests this isn't a temporary blip
So how did the U.S. finally turn the corner on drug deaths?
What's going on? No one knows for sure, but here are eight leading theories I hear from experts.
1. Naloxone, also known as Narcan, may be the game-changer. The Biden administration raced to make this medication, a nasal spray that quickly reverses opioid and fentanyl overdoses, far more widely available. People can buy it now over the counter without a prescription. It's distributed for free in many high-risk communities, and people using drugs often carry it. It's unclear how many lives naloxone is saving each year, but many front-line public health workers tell me the impact is huge. Learn more here.
Trump literally can't do anything right
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/24/nx-s1-5328157/fentanyl-overdose-death-drugs
Reporter's notebook: 8 theories why fentanyl deaths are plummeting
Over the past six months, I've been tracking something really cool and mysterious happening on American streets. For the first time in 30 years, drug deaths are plunging at a rate that addiction experts say is hopeful — but also baffling.
In the past, even the most ambitious, well-funded efforts to slow drug deaths only helped a little bit. Reducing fatal overdoses by 8% or 9% was seen as a huge win.
But now, deaths nationwide plunged more than 26% from the peak in June 2023, according to the latest preliminary data gathered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That means roughly 30,000 fewer people a year are dying. Many states are seeing even bigger improvements of 30% to 50%. In some states, progress has been sustained since 2021 and 2022, which suggests this isn't a temporary blip
So how did the U.S. finally turn the corner on drug deaths?
What's going on? No one knows for sure, but here are eight leading theories I hear from experts.
1. Naloxone, also known as Narcan, may be the game-changer. The Biden administration raced to make this medication, a nasal spray that quickly reverses opioid and fentanyl overdoses, far more widely available. People can buy it now over the counter without a prescription. It's distributed for free in many high-risk communities, and people using drugs often carry it. It's unclear how many lives naloxone is saving each year, but many front-line public health workers tell me the impact is huge. Learn more here.
