MINNESOTA, USA — New preliminary data from the Minnesota Department of Health shows overdose deaths dropped 8% last year statewide compared to 2022.
This is likely the first time Minnesota has seen any drop in total overdose deaths since 2018, according to a press release, and the Minnesota findings are on par with national downward trends.
Dr. Alta DeRoo, chief medical officer for treatment organization Hazelden Betty Ford, attributes the decline to two changes.
"This means to us that some of the interventions we've been trying to put out there are working," DeRoo said. "In January of 2023, the DEA relaxed the requirements for prescribing buprenorphine, which is also known as suboxone, which is a life-saving medication to treat opioid use disorder … Then in around March of 2023, Narcan became available over the counter."
Narcan is a nasal spray that can be administered to someone who has overdosed.
MDH attributes the dip in overdose deaths last year to increased state investments in overdose prevention efforts included in the governor's One Minnesota budget, as well as the new state law requiring schools, first responders and residential treatment programs to carry Narcan.
Additional initiatives included Minneapolis partnering with the Minneapolis Fire Department this summer to put a free Narcan vending machine outside a southside fire station. A spokesperson said the machine has dispensed more than 820 boxes since its July installation, and that it's being restocked every week or so.
“The Narcan vending machine at Fire Station 21 is making a difference in our community," Minneapolis Health Department Communications Manager Scott Wasserman told KARE 11 on Friday. "The free Narcan is a lifesaving tool that’s giving people another chance at life and an opportunity at recovery.”
Drug overdose deaths were down in both urban and rural areas in 2023. Greater Minnesota saw the biggest change, a 21% drop, while the metro saw a 1% decline, according to MDH.
But it's not all good news, as the root of the problem persists. The report, released Wednesday, says for every overdose death last year, there were nearly 13 overdoses in which the person survived.
"[It] doesn't necessarily mean that people aren't using opioids anymore, that just means that they're not dying from it," DeRoo said.
The report also shows meth and cocaine-related deaths continued on a 10-year, upward trend.
"The Narcan and the buprenorphine specifically is going to help with somebody suffering from opioid use disorder, but for methamphetamine and cocaine, we don't have those same type of interventions," DeRoo said. "Definitely more work needs to be done."
MDH says numbers from the report may change as more information becomes available. Currently, the report does not include Minnesotans who overdosed and died while in another state.