MARYLAND - Governor Wes Moore has announced a dramatic and welcome dip in Maryland’s fatal overdoses in 2024, according to preliminary data.
In 2023, the Governor’s Office said the state saw 2,511 fatal overdoses, based on data collected in the Overdose Data Dashboard. In 2024, that number fell to 1,553, according to the Governor - a 38% decrease from the previous year.
“The decrease in fatal overdoses that we’re seeing in Maryland is historic, and it’s proof that our investments in behavioral health and substance use care and the incredible efforts of people all around our state are paying off,” said Moore. “However, we still have work to do. We are still losing far too many of our loved ones and neighbors to preventable overdoses, and we will not let up in our efforts to meet people where they are and make connections to care.”
The Governor’s Office says fatal overdoses rose in Maryland and across the United States following the COVID-19 pandemic, with 2,800 lost to overdoses in 2021 alone. Maryland officials say the last time Maryland’s fatal overdoses fell below 2,000 was in 2015.
Maryland health officials noted the data collected pointed to disparities in overdoses remaining in Maryland’s minority communities. Non-Hispanic Black Marylanders accounted for 44% of overdose deaths in the state since 2022, despite making up about 30% of Maryland’s population, the Governor’s Office said. Since 2023, Hispanic people in Maryland under 25 saw more overdoses than both non-Hispanic white people and non-Hispanic Black people in the same age group.
“Collaboration has always been at the heart of Maryland’s strategy for reducing overdoses and saving lives,” said Maryland Special Secretary of Overdose Response Emily Keller. “Everyone has a role to play, from the highest level of government to community members in all parts of our state, and I believe this decrease reflects that collaboration. This crisis affects everyone, and all Marylanders can help save even more lives by learning to recognize the signs of an overdose and how to administer the overdose reversal medication, naloxone.”
2024’s final overdose data figures are pending a small number of ongoing death investigations, Moore’s office said Tuesday, Those struggling with substance use are encouraged to call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, to speak with someone who can help, or to visit the 988 website.