First responders work on a victim of an apparent overdose in Albuquerque, N.M., in August. Despite an encouraging national decrease in overdoses, deaths are still rising in many Western states. (Tim Henderson | Stateline)
Despite an encouraging national dip in the past year, overdose deaths are still on the rise in many Western states as the epicenter of the nation’s continuing crisis shifts toward the Pacific Coast, where deadly fentanyl and also methamphetamine are finding more victims.
Overdose deaths remain sharply higher since 2019. Many states are working on “harm reduction” strategies that stress cooperation with people who use drugs; in some cases, states are getting tougher on prosecutions, with murder charges for dealers.
Alaska, Nevada, Washington and Oregon have moved into the top 10 for rate of overdose deaths since 2019, according to a Stateline analysis of federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Meanwhile the biggest one-year improvements were in Nebraska (down 30%), North Carolina (down 23%), and Vermont, Ohio and Pennsylvania (all down 19%).