KANSAS CITY - Missouri’s drug overdose deaths declined by 11 percent in 2023, according to a new report.
Still, according to a University of Missouri-St. Louis report, nearly 2,000 people died from drug overdoses last year.
Associate professor Rachel Winograd says nearly three-quarters of Missouri’s fatal overdoses are from opioids, 93 percent involving fentanyl.
However, Winograd says the numbers are trending in the right direction, even this year.
"The Missouri Health and Senior Services tracks overdose data for our state and shows preliminary data by quarter," said Winograd. "And indeed, looking at the first half of this current year, it's showing that we are nearly 30 percent down from last year, which is already a decrease."
Winograd tells Missourinet one thing that's reduced the numbers is the prevalence of overdose reversal drugs, such as naloxone.
"Here in Missouri, we have distributed over a quarter-million doses of naloxone in 2023, which is nearly three times as much as we were able to distribute the year prior," said Winograd.
She says other reasons for the decline could be a lower drug supply, and an increased focus on policy, funding, and treatment.
Medication-assisted treatments are also highly effective to help people to overcome addiction.
Missouri’s epicenter of drug overdose deaths is still St. Louis according to Winograd.