US Overdose Deaths Fall to 70,000 in 2025

Preliminary government data shows that approximately 70,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2025, a decrease of about 14 from the prior year and the third consecutive annual decline, the longest such streak in decades.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the figures on Wednesday, noting that the 2025 total matches pre-pandemic levels from 2019. Overdose deaths dropped across multiple drug categories, including fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine. The reductions occurred in the vast majority of states, though Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico recorded increases.

"I'm cautiously optimistic that this represents really a fundamental change in the arc of the overdose crisis," said Brandon Marshall, a Brown University researcher who tracks overdose trends. He cautioned, however, that the numbers remain alarmingly high and could rebound due to factors like policy shifts or changes in the drug supply. "If deaths are going down rapidly, that means they can increase just as rapidly if we take our foot off the gas," Marshall added.

Overdose fatalities had surged for decades before exploding during the COVID-19 pandemic, when social isolation and barriers to...