Drug overdoses are declining nationwide

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – Loud preliminary data According to the Center for Disease Control, fatal drug overdoses are declining.

“It gives us hope that we are going in the right direction,” said William Manning, clinical director of Addiction Allies.

That hope comes from new CDC data showing that drug overdose deaths have declined.

They have increased during the pandemic.

Now they're down 10% nationally and 15% in Virginia.

“This is a community issue,” Manning said. “Some of the decline in overdose numbers is certainly due to more Narcan being spread on the streets.”

Manning says that while overdose deaths are declining, drug abuse is not.

“I don’t think we need to rest on our laurels,” Manning said. “We must continue to work tirelessly to support these suffering people.”

The Blue Ridge Poison Center has also seen a decrease in overdose deaths, but like Manning, they know the risk remains.

“There are so many new substances coming onto the market that we can't detect them all,” said doctor Chris Holstege, medical director of the Blue Ridge Poison Center. “Then we also remember that we have the toddler age groups that are getting into things and we're certainly seeing a lot of calls in that category.”

Doctor Holstege says saving lives is a team effort.

“We really want to get more education again, especially for our youth, so that we become aware of the dangers inherent in substances caused by contamination with other things that they may not even know they are ingesting,” says Dr. said Holstege.

It's important to note that while Narcan is effective, the bigger problem is knowing when and how to use it.

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