For the second year in a row, Missouri’s drug overdose deaths have declined.
A new University of Missouri-St. Louis report shows 1,450 people still died from a drug overdose in 2024 – a reduction of nearly 500 from the previous year.
Morgan Farnworth, an UMSL Institute of Mental Health researcher, said overdose deaths declined in each region of the state and the drop occurred among white and black residents.
“Overall, we saw a 26% decrease in drug overdose deaths between 2023 and 2024, and that’s across all types of drugs. It’s the fewest number of overdose deaths that we’ve seen since 2016 when fentanyl first emerged in the drug supply,” Farnworth told Missourinet.
Farnworth said the state had a 36% reduction in overdose deaths specifically among opioids in 2024.
The report shows the central region had the largest drop – from 147 to 64 last year.
How does Missouri stack up with other states around the nation?
“We’re pretty on par for other states in the Midwestern region, though we’re outpacing some other states like Indiana, for example, or Kansas,” said Farnworth.
According to Farnworth, Missouri’s distribution of an overdose reversal drug, called naloxone, is a key contributor to the decline, with about 1.3 million doses given in 2024. That figure is nearly double the number distributed the previous year.
Some of Missouri’s opioid settlement funds are being used to distribute naloxone across the state, something Farnworth calls “a gamechanger” in Missouri’s level of naloxone assets.
“There’s a whole suite of interventions that we know work, right? From medications to recovery, housing and recovery community centers and innovative peer support programs for people with substance use disorders,” said Farnworth. “We need to continue to put pedal to the metal and double down on these efforts to ensure people get the care that they need and are able to not just survive, but to thrive.”
The Institute of Mental Health serves as Missouri’s hub for naloxone distribution.
To get Naloxone for free, go to GetMissouriNaloxone.com, with a map of local sites providing the drug.
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