Deadly drug overdoses in Minnesota dipped 8% last year, as the availability of the opioid overdose-reversing drug naloxone and medications for opioid use disorder spread.
Last year 1,274 Minnesotans died from an overdose, according to preliminary data the Minnesota Department of Health released Wednesday. It was the first dip in five years and mirrors a national 3% decrease in the deaths.
"Hallelujah," said Kathryn Nevins, chair of the state's Opioid Epidemic Response Advisory Council (OERAC). "We're certainly aware there are still a lot of overdoses, but they are not dying [as often] and that is a huge win."
For every person who died from an overdose last year, there were almost 13 situations where someone was treated in a hospital for a nonfatal overdose, according to the state Department of Health.
"It's really great to have some good news in this arena," said Mary DeLaquil, the state's lead overdose mortality epidemiologist. "I really would like to think that it's the start of a downward trend in general."
Jessie Van Berkel is the Star Tribune’s social services reporter. She writes about Minnesota’s most vulnerable populations and the systems and policies that affect them. Topics she covers include disability services, mental health, addiction, poverty, elder care and child protection.
Family and friends shared tears and memories of Esther Fulks and Rose Reece, who died after another car crashed with theirs at a North Side intersection.
