Drug overdose deaths in Alaska are at an all-time high

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Overdose deaths in Alaska reached a record high in 2023, according to a new report just released by state health officials.

The report finds that Alaska is bucking the national trend, where overdose deaths declined in 2023.

According to the report, there were 357 drug overdose deaths in the state, compared to 247 in 2022. Most overdose deaths were among men, particularly American Indians/Alaska Natives.

According to the report, people ages 35 to 44 were the most likely to die, and most of the deaths occurred in Anchorage.

Lindsey Kato, Alaska's public health director, called the numbers “devastating” and “heartbreaking.” Kato said most of the deaths (74%) were due to fentanyl, which is now fully included in Alaska's drug supply.

“Fentanyl is just cheaper to produce,” Kato said. “It's easy to penetrate the drug supply and it represents a huge profit margin for our cartels. And so it creates an important market for drugs here in the state of Alaska.”

Lt. Daron Cooper of the Alaska State Troopers Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit said troopers in Alaska are seizing drugs in larger numbers, particularly fentanyl and methamphetamine.

Cooper said most medications that arrive in Alaska are flown in or arrive by mail, either through the U.S. Postal Service or companies like Fed Ex or UPS. He said detecting drugs can be difficult.

“The package looks like any other package that ends up on the belt, whether it's from Amazon or a drug dealer, the package may look exactly the same,” he said. “So in that sense it presents a certain difficulty.”

Cooper said there is evidence that some of Mexico's largest drug cartels – particularly the Jalisco and Sinaloa cartels – operate in Alaska, adding that the lucrative drug trade here attracts them.

“Alaska, unfortunately, has always had an appetite for controlled substances, and we also know that the monetary value is much higher up here than in some places in the states,” he said. “So when they do a risk assessment like that, they think, yes, Alaska is the right place to sell drugs.”

Despite a slight decrease in 2022, the state continues to see an increase in overdose deaths for several years, and while the 2023 numbers are discouraging, Kato said the state is working to bring them down.

In an emailed response, Gov. Mike Dunleavy's administration said it has made significant investments in fighting opioid addiction and “bringing to justice those who sell these drugs,” as it called it.

The governor pointed to a number of programs and services spread across three state departments, including the Department of Health, the Department of Education and the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

Kato pointed to greater efforts to work with community partners to address drug problems, as well as the distribution of funds from the National Opioid Settlement National Opioid Settlement Funds, which will provide more than $3 million in grants annually for three years to support community programs will provide opioid remediation strategies.

“I think the resources that we have provided through our grant funding are really critical because we know that change is happening at the community level and a lot of the work that I see here is our role as the Department of Public Health and “The department is really building up our communities so that they can address these issues in the best way that they see fit in their respective areas,” she said.

The department has also strengthened its website, which provides resources for Alaska residents, including finding treatment options and naloxone kits that can reverse an opioid overdose. The department's Facebook page lists dates for public training on how to use the kits.

Kato said she is particularly concerned about the high rate of overdoses among Alaska Natives and American Indians, noting that she herself lost a family member to a drug overdose last year.

“It really hits home to me what we're dealing with here,” she said. “I want people to know that this does not fall on deaf ears and that this is a priority for us in the department. It’s a priority for us in the division, but it’s also a priority for me.”

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