CDC data shows overdose deaths dropped significantly both in Oklahoma and across the country in 2024

Data from the CDC shows overdose deaths dropped significantly both in Oklahoma and across the country last year.

It says there were an estimated 80,000 deaths in the U.S. in 2024 and 110,000 the year before. That's a drop of 27 percent.

In Oklahoma, early data shows overdose deaths dropped 24 percent, though that could change because some cause of death investigations aren't complete yet.

Deaths are now at their lowest level since 2019.

Opioids still account for the most overdose deaths.

What Oklahoma has done to lower opioid deaths 

Oklahoma has worked for more than a decade to curb rising overdose deaths.

One of the state's earliest laws to save lives was in 2013, when state lawmakers passed a law letting emergency responders use naloxone, also known as Narcan, to save people who are overdosing.

The next year, another law was passed to let anyone buy naloxone from a pharmacy without a prescription.

Police and fire departments then started giving naloxone kits to first responders.

The state sued several prescription painkiller companies in 2017 for their role in creating an opioid crisis by distributing OxyContin and other similar drugs.

Oklahoma has since gotten hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements with drug companies and pharmacies. That money now pays for opioid addiction treatment programs.

In 2021, the state allowed the health department, churches, and other groups to use state money to buy and give out Naloxone.

A watershed moment came in 2023, when the FDA approved Narcan as the first over-the-counter overdose prevention drug.

That led to local health groups setting up vending machines where people could come and get Narcan for free.

State law also says no one can be sued for calling 911 for a suspected overdose or using Narcan on them.

Grand Mental Health Outreach and Engagement 

Grand Mental Health says they believe one reason for the drop is that Narcan is available to anyone.

If someone calls their 24/7 hotline, someone will deliver a bag filled with the lifesaving Narcan in about 15 minutes.

An "anything helps" sits in Scott Whitefield's office. He used to hold it when he was homeless and addicted to drugs 12 years ago.

"I used that bottom that I went through as my motivator," said Whitefield. 

He says he went to nine treatment centers, and it took an overdose where he nearly died to change his life.

"I had injectable Narcan used on me and I was reversed and saved, I was fired up and I wanted something different my life," said Whitefield.

Now Scott returns the favor. He works for Grand Mental Health as the Outreach and Engagement Coordinator, and that's put him in a position to save others with Narcan.

Whitefield says, "To see that light come back into their eyes and the color come back into their face, to see the gratitude, they have a few minutes later when they're expressing, 'you saved my life.' I don't know how to describe that feeling other than it's one of the most wonderful feelings in the world."

For nearly two years, his team has worked 24/7, driving to homeless camps and areas where the homeless hang out, to hand out kits with Narcan, fentanyl testing strips, and food.

He says the teams hands out 1000 Narcan applicators a month.

"When you think about that 12,000 applicators out there that we put out on a daily basis, and we are starting to see a decline in the need to use Narcan," said Whitefield. 

Scott says people are more likely to listen to someone who's been there before, so Scott's team is all recovering addicts.

"The message to the folks that we're trying to reach out there is so much more believable, they know we're not lying to them, they know that if we're concerned, they should be concerned, because we came from this as well," said Whitefield.

Scott says everyone should carry Narcan with them, because you never know when you could save someone's life.

Prevention

Although the CDC says prescription opioid and heroin abuse have decreased, the rise in illegal fentanyl has now become one of the leading causes of deadly overdoses.

Oklahoma has also taken steps to crack down on its use, from stricter criminal penalties for fentanyl traffickers to legalizing fentanyl test strips.

But, the CDC says overdoses are still one of the leading causes of death for young adults.

Resources

Several groups around Green Country provide free Narcan and fentanyl test strips.

You can call the Grand Mental Health 24/7 Hotline at 539-242-6078 to get Narcan or placement for those struggling with addiction into medical-supervised detox, drug, and alcohol treatment; outpatient services and sober living programs; fentanyl test strips, HIV/HCV testing and referrals for care and treatment.

In Tulsa, Family and Children's Services offers them at community distribution boxes around the city.

You can also get free Naloxone and fentanyl test strips mailed to you from the state by going to https://okimready.org/overdose/

How to Recognize and Overdose and Administer Naloxone: https://okimready.org/prevention/naloxone/

Fighting back against addiction: Where you can find Narcan in Green Country