FRANKFORT, Ky. Drug overdose deaths in Kentucky are down nearly 10% in 2023, marking a second consecutive annual decline in the fight against an addiction epidemic that is far from over, Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday.
The number of fatal overdoses statewide has fallen below 2,000 as authorities have committed to a comprehensive response that includes treatment and prevention as well as seizures of illegal drugs by law enforcement.
“Even as we celebrate progress, there is much sadness and pain because of this continuing epidemic,” the Democratic governor said at a state ceremony.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell — who has directed huge sums of federal funding to his home state to combat addiction problems — said the report is a “cause for hope.” The substance abuse crisis has hit “communities in every zip code in the country,” with Kentucky among the hardest hit, he said.
“We still have a lot of work to do in the commonwealth and stop the flow of drugs across our southern border, and I will continue to fight to ensure Kentucky remains at the forefront of our national response,” McConnell said in a statement Thursday.
A total of 1,984 Kentuckians died last year from drug overdoses, a 9.8% drop from the previous year, according to the 2023 Kentucky Drug Overdose Fatality Report. synthetic opioid – remained the biggest culprit, accounting for 79% of overdose deaths in 2023, the report said.
“If we can ever get this under control, I think the success we could have is unbelievable,” said Van Ingram, executive director of the State Office of Drug Control Policy.
Kentucky’s Republican-dominated legislature passed a sweeping measure this year that aims to combat crime. A key section targeted the prevalence of fentanyl, creating harsher sanctions when its distribution resulted in fatal overdoses.
Methamphetamine use was another key factor in fatal overdoses.
Among various age groups, the highest number of overdose deaths last year occurred among Kentuckians aged 35 to 44, at 571, a 13% drop from 2022, the report said.
A concerning trend is the rising number of overdose deaths among Black people in the state, Beshear said. The latest report showed a 5% increase, down from the 22% increase in last year’s report, he said.
“We are committed to working with partners and community leaders to reverse this trend and will use recently received funding to increase education and outreach efforts,” he said.
In 2022, the overall number of drug overdose deaths in Kentucky was down 5% from the previous year. It was the first decline since 2018.
Nationally, about 107,500 people died from overdoses in the U.S. last year, including U.S. citizens and noncitizens of the country at the time they died, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently estimated. That represents a 3% drop from 2022, when there were about 111,000 such deaths, the agency said.
In Kentucky, 160,000 doses of Narcan — the medication that can save someone’s life during an opioid overdose — were distributed last year, Ingram said, adding that he expects even more doses to circulate this year.
Ingram praised state lawmakers’ funding for substance abuse treatment and prevention efforts. Kentucky is at the forefront nationally in the per capita number of residential drug and alcohol treatment beds, Beshear said. The governor also highlighted the state’s Treatment Access Program, which allows people without health insurance to enter residential treatment.
“The ability to pay is no longer a barrier to treatment,” Beshear said. “We can get any Kentuckian who needs help with treatment almost immediately.”
Several leaders of addiction treatment agencies attended the statewide ceremony on Thursday. The governor praised Kentuckians involved in grassroots efforts to combat addiction.
“Your fight for the inches that turn into feet that turn into miles of progress is saving lives,” he said.
The 2023 Kentucky Overdose Fatality Report is compiled by the Kentucky Center for Injury Research and Prevention using 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.
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