Statement from ONDCP Director Dr. Rahul Gupta on Latest Drug Overdose Death Data

"When President Biden and Vice President Harris took office in January 2021, the number of drug overdose deaths was increasing 31% year-over-year. Over the past four years, the Administration has taken unprecedented action to tackle this crisis head-on, and today's data shows the largest decrease in overdose deaths on record. Far too many Americans have felt the pain of losing a loved one to overdose, and this new data is both a beacon of hope and an urgent call to action for us all to continue working together to beat this epidemic."

According to the latest provisional data released from the CDC, overdose deaths decreased by 10% year-over-year (in the 12-months ending April 2024). This is the biggest decrease in overdose deaths on record, and the fifth consecutive month of reported decreases in predicted 12-month total numbers of drug overdose deaths.

President Biden and Vice President Harris have made addressing the nation's overdose epidemic a top priority and a key pillar of the President's Unity Agenda for the Nation. Over the past four years, the Biden-Harris Administration has taken historic action and made more unprecedented investments than ever before, including by removing decades-long barriers to treatment for substance use disorder, expanding access to life-saving overdose reversal medications like naloxone, cracking down on the global trafficking of dangerous illicit synthetic drugs like fentanyl, and holding drug traffickers accountable. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to strengthening our efforts to save lives.

Read more on the Biden-Harris Administration actions to address the overdose epidemic HERE.

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