U.S. Overdose Deaths Fall for Third Straight Year in 2025, CDC Reports

Last Updated on 7 minutes ago by Vijay Kumar

New preliminary data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that U.S. drug overdose deaths dropped for the third straight year in 2025.
The data shows nearly 68,632 overdose deaths in the year ending December 2025 — a decline of about a 14% compared to 2024.

The estimated number of deaths is 69,973, which is higher than the current reported total, 68,632, because the first reports may not include all cases. About 0.3% of the deaths are still being investigated.

Brandon Marshall said, a Brown University researcher who studies overdose trends, “I’m cautiously optimistic that this represents really a fundamental change in the arc of the overdose crisis.” “If deaths are going down rapidly, that means they can increase just as rapidly if we take our foot off the gas,” he said.

At an event organized by the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) in august 2024, Marshall said, “We have a unique drug policy context and an unprecedented overdose crisis.” “It’s important to understand how OPCs are going to be most effective at addressing these problems in our diverse communities, be they large cities, small towns or rural areas.”

Last year, the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) said overdose deaths dropped because many communities started using better ways to help people with addiction.

The group said more people are getting treatment more easily, and medicines like naloxone are being widely used to stop overdoses and save lives. Other treatments, including methadone and buprenorphine, also help lower the risk of overdose deaths.

Alex Krotulski leads the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education in Horsham, Pennsylvania, a federally funded lab that helps track dangerous illegal drugs across the United States.

He said the lab discovered 27 new drugs during all of last year. But in less than five months of 2026, researchers have already found 23 new substances.
“The drug supply continues to change and evolve,” Krotulski said.