Fatal drug overdoses are declining nationally — but not in Alaska

Drug overdose deaths rose more in Alaska than any other state over the past year, increasing by nearly 39%, continuing a troubling, yearslong trend that bucks national declines, according to provisional data released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Between June 2023 and June 2024, Alaska recorded a total of 398 overdose deaths, the data shows. Between June 2022 and June 2023, the number was 287.

Alaska’s dramatic rise in deaths counters a national trend which has seen deadly overdoses fall. Nationally, fatal overdoses declined by 16.6% between June 2023 and June 2024, according to the CDC data. The White House called the drop “historic.”

The CDC data is just the latest signal that the deadly wave of drug deaths in Alaska — thought to be driven by opioids such as fentanyl — is not yet cresting. Last month, the 2023 Drug Overdose Mortality Report from the Alaska Health Analytics and Vital Records Section and Office of Substance Misuse and Addiction Prevention reported a 45% increase in deaths from 2022 to 2023.

The CDC warns that provisional data may undercount the actual number of deaths.

Related:

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