Approximately 70,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2025, a decrease of nearly 14 percent compared to the previous year, according to preliminary government figures.

This marked the third consecutive annual drop, making it the longest sustained decline in decades, according to federal data released yesterday. The 2025 total is roughly equivalent to that of 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Decreases were observed in the consumption of various types of drugs, including fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine. Overdose deaths fell in the vast majority of states, although seven reported slight increases—some reaching 10 percent or more—specifically in Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico, per preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"I am cautiously optimistic that this truly represents a fundamental shift in the trajectory of the overdose crisis," stated Brandon Marshall, a researcher at Brown University who studies these trends.

However, the figure remains high, and deaths decreased at a slower pace last year. Several factors could cause fatalities to rise again, including changes in government policies or a decrease in drug supply, Marshall and other researchers noted.

"If deaths go down quickly, that means they can increase just as fast if we take our foot off the gas," he warned.

Drug overdose deaths in the United States had generally been rising for decades but skyrocketed dramatically during the pandemic, peaking at nearly 110,000 in 2022. That surge was associated with social isolation and difficulties in accessing addiction treatment.

Researchers have pointed to numerous factors for the reduction in deaths: greater availability of the antidote naloxone, the expansion of addiction treatment, changes in how people consume narcotics, and the growing impact of billions of dollars from opioid lawsuit settlements.

Some research also suggests that the number of people likely to suffer an overdose has been shrinking, as fewer adolescents begin using drugs. Another theory proposes that regulatory changes in China appear to have diminished the availability of chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl.

The Donald Trump administration has cut programs designed to reduce overdose deaths and infections linked to drug use.