A staffer at Charm City Care Connection, a Baltimore organization that provides Naloxone and sterile needles to drug users, with the goal of preventing drug overdoses, hands out information. Photo courtesy of Charm City Care Connection.
The number of Marylanders dying from overdoses fell over the past year, mirroring a national trend but lagging behind the nation on the pace of the decline, according to recent federal data.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data estimates that 2,348 Marylanders died of an overdose from April 2023 to April 2024, down from 2,506 deaths the year before, a 6.16% drop. Overdose deaths in the U.S. during the same period fell 10%, according to current estimates.
Still, the gains left state health officials and substance use researchers optimistic that the state’s opioid crisis might be improving.
“There’s a lot to be hopeful for right now,” said Special Secretary of Overdose Response Emily Keller, who leads the Maryland Office of Overdose Response.