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Updated · NPR · May 28U.S. Street Drug Deaths Fall 14% in 2025 as Western States See Deadly Surges
11 articles · Updated · NPR · May 28
- CDC data show U.S. street drug deaths fell about 14% in 2025, extending the country's recent decline in overdose fatalities.
- The new overdose report still flags major trouble spots, with some Western states recording sharp increases even as the national toll drops.
- That split picture suggests the improvement is broad but uneven, leaving regional outbreaks as a key obstacle to sustaining the nationwide decline.
As U.S. drug deaths fall, why is a deadly surge of new synthetics hitting Western states so hard? The U.S. is curbing fentanyl deaths, but is the rise of naloxone-resistant 'designer drugs' the next crisis? With overdose deaths declining, why is the government defunding tools like test strips that help prevent them?