Jul 13, 2023
FRANKFORT — The battle has not been won but a national report finds that Kentucky is one of eight states making significant reductions in drug overdose deaths.
Gov. Andy Beshear released the 2022 Overdose Fatality Report stating that 2,135 Kentuckians lost their lives to a drug overdose last year. That is a decline of more than 5% compared with the previous year and is the first decline since 2018.
“Seeing a decrease in overdose deaths is encouraging, but we still have a long way to go, because one Kentucky life lost to overdose is one too many,” said Beshear. “As your Governor, I will work every day to improve access to treatment and programs to help those fighting this disease to win while also providing Kentucky’s law enforcement with more resources to get these dangerous drugs off our streets.”
The report indicates that 90% of overdose deaths involved opioids, and fentanyl continues to be the most prevalent drug contributing to those deaths, accounting for 72.5% nationwide in 2022.
Potent, inexpensive methamphetamine was also a significant contributor to overdose deaths.
Recently, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the national overdose death data, which listed Kentucky as one the few states to record a decline in overdose deaths.
A recent article from the Associated Press noted that Kentucky is one of only eight states that saw a significant decrease in overdose deaths last year, while the nation as a whole saw an uptick in deaths. The article notes that the decrease in overdose deaths is due to Kentucky’s intentional work to address addiction and offer more treatment services.