U.S. overdose deaths dropped in 2024 amid uneven progress, study finds

Researchers from the University of California San Diego have found that U.S. overdose death rates declined dramatically between 2023 and 2024, marking the first recorded drop in all four waves of the nation's overdose crisis.

The study, published in the journal Addiction, found that the nationwide decrease was largely driven by falling deaths involving illicit fentanyl, both alone and in combination with stimulants such as methamphetamine and cocaine. ...