New data from Los Angeles County Public Health shows an overall decrease in drug-related overdoses for the third year in a row.
This comes after a drop from an all-time high in overdoses in L.A. County in 2022, Dr. Gary Tsai of L.A. County Public Health said.
“There's been about a 30% overall decrease in drug overdose deaths, 40% reduction in fentanyl-related deaths, and 25% reduction in methamphetamine-related deaths,” says Dr. Tsai.
He told KNX News’ Karen Adams that this is due to the county’s prevention efforts, like the distribution of naloxone.
In a press release, officials with L.A. Public Health say they continue to invest in community-based overdose prevention efforts like the Fentanyl Frontline. But Brandon Fernandez, the CEO of addiction treatment center CRI-Help, says there may be roadblocks for continuing this decline.
“We need to be cognizant of the fact that policy changes at the federal and state level are going to impact access to care and could potentially impact the work that we've done and all the success that we've seen over the last 3 years,” said Fernandez.
He says that new drugs with fewer overdoses, like nitrous oxide and kratom, are real problems in the L.A. community, and where prevention and access to youth services need to be pushed.
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