FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Drug overdose deaths in Kentucky fell nearly 10% in 2023, marking the second consecutive decline in the fight against an addiction epidemic that is far from over, Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday.
The number of fatal overdoses fell below 2,000 nationwide, which authorities attributed to comprehensive measures that included treatment and prevention as well as police seizures of illegal drugs.
“Even as we celebrate progress, there is much suffering and pain because of this ongoing epidemic,” the Democratic governor said at a ceremony at the Statehouse.
Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell, who has channeled huge amounts of federal funding to his home state to combat drug problems, said the report was “a reason for hope.” The drug crisis has hit “communities in every zip code across the country,” with Kentucky hit the hardest, he said.
“There is still a lot of work ahead of us in our Commonwealth. We must stop drug smuggling at our southern border and I will continue to fight for Kentucky to lead our national response,” McConnell said in a statement Thursday.
According to the 2023 Kentucky Drug Overdose Fatality Report, a total of 1,984 Kentucky residents died of drug overdoses last year, down 9.8% from the previous year. Fentanyl – a powerful synthetic opioid – remained the main culprit, accounting for 79% of overdose deaths in 2023, the report said.
“If we can ever get this under control, I think we could have incredible success,” said Van Ingram, executive director of the state’s Office of Drug Control Policy.
Kentucky’s Republican-dominated legislature passed a sweeping crime-fighting measure this year, with a key section targeting the spread of fentanyl by imposing tougher penalties if its distribution leads to fatal overdoses.
Methamphetamine utilize was another key factor in fatal overdoses.
Among different age groups, the most overdose deaths last year were among those ages 35 to 44 in Kentucky, with 571, a 13% decrease from 2022, the report said.
A worrying trend is the rising number of overdose deaths among blacks in the state, Beshear said. The latest report shows a 5% enhance, compared to the 22% enhance last year, he said.
“We are committed to working with partners and community leaders to reverse this trend, and we will use the grants we recently received to increase education and awareness efforts,” he said.
In 2022, the total number of drug overdose deaths in Kentucky decreased by 5% from the previous year. This was the first decline since 2018.
Last year, about 107,500 people died of overdoses nationwide in the U.S., including both American citizens and noncitizens who were in the country at the time of their deaths, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently estimated. That’s 3% fewer than in 2022, when there were an estimated 111,000 such deaths, the agency said.
Ingram said 160,000 doses of Narcan, the drug that can save lives in the event of an opioid overdose, were distributed in Kentucky last year. He hopes that even more doses will be distributed this year.
Ingram praised the state legislature’s funding for drug treatment and prevention. Kentucky leads the nation in the number of inpatient treatment slots for drug and alcohol addicts per capita, Beshear said. The governor also pointed to the state’s Treatment Access Program, which allows people without health insurance to access inpatient treatment.
“Ability to pay is no longer a barrier to treatment,” Beshear said. “We can get treatment to any Kentucky resident who needs it almost immediately.”
Several representatives from addiction treatment facilities attended the ceremony at the Statehouse on Thursday. The governor praised Kentucky residents who are participating in grassroots initiatives to combat addiction.
“Their fight for the inches that become feet and then miles of progress saves lives,” he said.
The 2023 Kentucky Overdose Fatality Report is compiled by the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center and uses data from the Office of Vital Statistics, the Office of the State Medical Examiner and the Kentucky coroners. These numbers are subject to change, the governor’s office said.
