Drug overdose deaths in the United States dropped to pre-pandemic levels last year, Axios reports citing CDC estimates putting the number at 80,391 down 26.9 percent from the 110,037 estimated in 2023 and among those, opioid deaths dropped even more: 34 percent at 54,743 from 83,140.
So yeah, any minute now some Republican member of Congress or Fox News head or some other MAGA chode’s going to do the same thing they do with 2020 but in reverse: Claim Trump was president during the year this pretty impressive decrease in deaths from drugs was notched.
In reality Axios doesn’t mention Joe Biden’s policies but credits Narcan being made available over-the-counter in 2023 and being added to standard issue first aid kits for paramedics and other first responders, as well as the wide availability of test strips that allow users to check if fentanyl has been laced in with the cocaine they think they’re snorting. The article does however mention that the progress is endangered by convicted felon President Trump and minions’ spending plans, sur-fucking-prise. “A group of medical doctors and academic experts on addiction warned lawmakers in a letter this week that ‘drastic’ cuts to federal health agencies and their grant recipients could set back efforts to address overdoses, substance use disorder and mental health,” Axios writes.