The latest data from the CDC includes estimates that show a 3% drop in overdose deaths in the U.S.
While the data is incomplete, and the CDC states it is subject to change, it represents a “glimmer of hope,” said Monica Ruiz, assistant professor in the Department of Prevention and Community Health at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health.
The drop in overdose deaths is the first in five years, and Ruiz told WTOP it’s likely due to a combination of things, such as “better awareness, improving accessibility to treatment options and recovery supports, Narcan availability.”
Ruiz said people are also becoming more willing to use Narcan, the overdose reversal drug she called “a tremendously effective lifesaving tool.”
But Ruiz pointed out that Narcan is effective in reversing overdoses when opioids are used, and that CDC data shows fatal overdoses involving cocaine and other drugs, such as meth, actually rose in 2023.
“If they’re using cocaine or methamphetamine, Narcan is not going to work for that because those are stimulants, and Narcan works with opioids, and that’s a problem,” Ruiz said.
One of the big challenges, along with the increased potency of drugs that are sold illegally, said Ruiz, is the ease with which anyone can get them. Young people are able to access what they believe is Percocet, Adderall or OxyContin through social media.
Among the challenges to addressing substance abuse, Ruiz said, is the way society continues to judge those who suffer from addiction.
“It has a moral stigma in a way that other diseases do not.”
But, she said, addiction “is a disease, just like any other disease.”
Lists of resources available in D.C., Maryland and Virginia for those struggling with substance abuse can be found online.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This report previously stated Monica Ruiz worked in the Department of Prevention and Public Health. The actual name of the department at George Washington University is the Department of Prevention and Community Health. This report has been updated to reflect the correct name.
