Notes

A mystery of fewer deaths. More than 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The problem is worse in some cities than others: Baltimore, once lauded for its efforts to reduce overdose fatalities, has seen roughly 1,000 die every year over the past six years. Overdose deaths in America had been getting worse for some 20 years, until it suddenly got a lot worse still. In 2019, there were fewer than 70,000 OD deaths; by 2023, there were more than 110,000.

Now, though, that trend might be turning. New CDC stats show that between April 2023 and April 2024, overdose deaths fell by 10 percent—an unprecedented drop. What's behind it? Today, Magdalena Cerdá explores the state of America's opioid epidemic, its decades-long history, and what we know—and don’t know—about the effectiveness of the ways U.S. officials have responded to it.

—Gustav Jönsson