CDC: Overdose Prevention Resources

Drug overdose is an evolving public health crisis. In 2023, an estimated 54.2 million Americans aged 12 or older needed substance use disorder treatment in the past year, but only 12.8 million people with a substance use disorder in the past year received treatment.1Reducing the use of illegal drugs, the misuse of prescription opioids and other medications, and drug overdoses and deaths has been a longstanding challenge.

Drug overdoses dramatically increased over the last two decades, with deaths increasing approximately 520% from 1999 to 2023.2 In 2023, approximately 105,000 people died from a drug overdose and nearly 80,000, or about 76%, involved opioids.2 Additionally, deaths involving multiple drugs (i.e., polysubstance overdose deaths) have also increased.3 Research shows that people who have had at least one opioid overdose are more likely to have another.

Best Practices / Toolkits