Provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Vital Statistics System indicated a nearly 24% decline in drug overdose deaths in the United States for the 12 months ending in September 2024, compared to the previous year.
Peter Zeihan did a short video on this recently. The tl;dw was:
Fentanyl is pretty new and both the producers and consumers didn’t know how to dose it properly. Producers are now producing lower concentration output, and consumers have learned how to better meter their intake.
Anti-OD drugs are available for private ownership now, so a friend or family member can more easily save someone who is ODing.
And to a lesser extent: A bunch of people died, they can’t die again.
Fentanyl ODs are actually on the rise further west in the US, where it typically has not been in the supply as much as the East Coast.
Part of the reality is that people are just used to it and are being more careful, including by relying on naloxone
If so, wastewater concentration levels should remain high.
Maybe. All the users dying not only lowered the number of users in a very direct fashion, but likely convinced a bunch of others to seek their high elsewhere.