Oregon’s overdose deaths climbed in 2023 while such deaths fell overall in the U.S.

Oregon saw the second-largest increase in overdose deaths of any state in 2023, even as much of the rest of the country saw a decline, federal data show.

About one-third more people died of a drug overdose last year in Oregon compared with the previous year, federal figures show. That’s about 1,880 people dead after ingesting opioids such as fentanyl, stimulants such as methamphetamine or other drugs, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While Oregon set a record for overdose deaths in the state last year, the national numbers declined for the first time since 2018. Since that year, Oregon’s overdose deaths have grown a staggering 237% — the second-highest increase in the United States, after Alaska — compared with a 58% increase nationally during that time.

Why that’s happening is not entirely clear.

Nearly 107,700 people died of an overdose in the U.S. last year, compared to about 109,400 in 2022, federal data show, an approximately 2% decline.

Oregon wasn’t the only state to buck the national trend. Alaska saw the steepest increase in overdose deaths, with 45% more deaths last year than in 2022, according to federal data. Oregon had a 35% increase, according to federal data. Washington, Nevada and Hawaii placed third, fourth and fifth, with increases of 28%, 24% and 14%, respectively.

Nine other states and Washington, D.C., counted more overdose deaths last year than the year before, while South Dakota saw no change, and each of the remaining 35 states saw a decline. Nebraska, Indiana and Maine saw the steepest drops in overdose deaths, with 23%, 18% and 16% fewer deaths last year, respectively, than in 2022.

While full data for 2024 won’t be available for some time, the numbers federal health officials have already released paint a hopeful picture not only for the country as a whole but for Oregon as well.

During the one-year period ending in July, nearly 17% fewer people across the country died of overdoses compared to the one-year period ending July 2023, preliminary federal data show.

Only five states had more overdose deaths during the year ending in July than the prior year. Oregon is one of them, but the increase in deaths in the Beaver State was only 5%, far lower than the approximately 35% more deaths during the year ending December 2023.

The Oregon Health Authority confirmed their data also show a downward trajectory this year.

“Our very preliminary 2024 data show Oregon is seeing a similar trend in overdose decrease,” spokesperson Jonathan Modie said in an email, “but we are not sure why at this point.”

— Fedor Zarkhin is a breaking news and enterprise reporter. Do you have a story? Reach him by phone or text at 971-373-2905 or by email at fzarkhin@oregonian.com.

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