Drug overdose deaths are increasing in Alaska

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) – Over the past four years, drug overdose deaths have increased. They are currently at a record high as fentanyl and methamphetamine continue to spread across Alaska.

Before 2018, the number of drug overdose deaths in the last border area was relatively stagnant. These deaths actually dropped to nearly double digits in 2018. However, drug-related deaths have increased since then, with an increase of 110 deaths in 2023 compared to 2022.

“There were 1,757 drug overdose deaths in Alaska between 2014 and 2023,” according to the 2023 Drug Overdose Mortality Update released by the Alaska Department of Health. The report looks at the race, age, location and ethnicity of those who died from drug use, as well as which drugs were most common in those deaths.

Most of these drug overdose deaths are due to accidental overdoses, with only 7% being suicides. This is partly due to the increasing lethality of street drugs, which often contain fentanyl.

The increasing lethality of street drugs is actually contributing to the increase in overdose deaths, as this number increased by 44.5% between 2022 and 2023, reaching a record 357 deaths. That figure has pushed drug-related deaths in the state to an average of nearly 50 per 100,000 residents.

Men accounted for the majority of all cases, but women still accounted for nearly 37% of all cases.

When breaking the numbers down by race, white Alaskans had the highest total number of drug-related deaths in 2023, at 170. This number has been relatively high since 2020, when it almost doubled from just 77. Although the number is highest for this population group, the rate of drug-related deaths remains relatively low at 34.2 per 100,000 population. In comparison, Alaska Natives and American Indians had the highest and second-highest rates overall in 2023, at 114 per 100,000 and 119 per 100,000. These numbers represent a large increase from just 82 deaths in 2022.

The number of multiracial, black and Hispanic Alaska residents also reached double digits in 2023, with all three showing steady increases over the years. However, Asian and Pacific Islanders remained in single digits.

When breaking the data down by age, it was middle-aged and older adults who saw the highest numbers in both 2023 and the year before. Those aged 35 to 44 had the highest total at 115, at a rate of 110 per 100,000. This was the only group with three-digit numbers, as the next highest totals were 75 and 67 among those aged 25 to 34 and 45 to 54, respectively. Seniors and young people consistently had the lowest numbers.

This increase was seen in almost all regions of the state except the North Slope and the Southwest. However, the growing number of drug-related deaths is primarily due to Anchorage. There, the number of drug overdose deaths rose by over 300% in just four years. In 2019 there were only 57 drug-related deaths, in 2023 there were already 230.

Opioids remain the leading cause of these deaths, causing 286 of the 357 drug overdose deaths in 2023. 265 of these are related to fentanyl.

Methamphetamine was another common factor, attributed to 193 deaths.

Although this total exceeds the total of 357, it is because many of the overdose deaths were due to at least two substances and some were due to only one substance.

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