Fentanyl Precursor Shortage Was Behind the Decline in Overdose Deaths Since 2023: Study

Health care policy experts have been puzzled by the drop but offered other explanations such as increased use of naloxone to reverse fentanyl overdoses.

Marcy and Miguel Mendoza (R) who lost their 10-year-old son Nathaniel Mendoza to fentanyl, attend the fourth annual National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day in New York City, on Aug. 21, 2025. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

A new study examining the drop in opioid overdose deaths suggests that the decrease, starting in mid-2023, is due to a disruption in the supply chain of fentanyl precursor chemicals from China, which has reduced street drug potency.

The study, published in the journal Science this month, looked at the decline in fatal overdoses tied to synthetic opioids, mainly fentanyl.