Finalized this month shows over 300 people died from overdose in Southwestern Oregon last year, an increase of 30% from 2022.
Just over half of the state's overdose deaths involved both an opioid, like fentanyl, and a stimulant like methamphetamine, according to Dr. Tom Jeanne, an epidemiologist with OHA.
Jeanne said Oregon may be lagging in falling overdose deaths because of fentanyl鈥檚 relatively late arrival.
鈥淚t's a question of limited state and local resources and how can we best use those,鈥� said Jeanne. 鈥淲hen you have a spike that hits so quickly, it unfortunately does take a while to ramp up the response and the prevention and the treatment to really address it.鈥�
In 2023, more than 1,800 died of overdose statewide, according to OHA data. Although Jeanne said he鈥檚 cautiously optimistic about early 2024 data showing Oregon might finally see a drop in overdoses.
鈥淚 want to be careful, because this is pretty early, non-final data, but we are hopeful that we will start to see that trend reverse in the 2024 data as it becomes final,鈥� said Jeanne.
Dr. Brian Hurley, president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, said one reason the country could be seeing a drop in overdose deaths is the increase in life-saving resources for drug users. Another potential reason is changes in the drug supply, he said.
鈥淚t begs the question, has there been a shift in either the concentration or the prevalence of fentanyl and the drug supply? And the short answer is, we actually don't know,鈥� said Hurley.
He said another explanation is that fentanyl already tore through communities at the highest risk of overdose. Although fentanyl isn鈥檛 the only culprit, he explained. In Los Angeles, for example, he said that around half of overdoses involved methamphetamine use without fentanyl.
Governor Tina Kotek鈥檚 proposed budget asks for around $240 million for addiction-related services for the coming biennium. Between 2021 and 2023, Oregon on resources to help those struggling with substance use.
