Drug Overdose Deaths in US Decline for First Time Since 1990

Medical workers and police treat a woman who has overdosed on heroin, the second case in a matter of minutes in Warren, Ohio, on July 14, 2017. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The number of people who died from drug overdoses in the United States dropped in 2018, marking the first decline in nearly three decades, according to figures released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on July 17.

The government estimates that 68,557 people died from overdoses in 2018, down from 72,224 in 2017. The drop is driven by the reduction in prescription opioid overdose deaths.