Opioid deaths fall below 1,000 for first year since 2013

The number of opioid-related overdose fatalities fell below 1,000 for the first time in more than a decade in 2025, state health officials said Friday, marking a significant improvement since Massachusetts broke a devastating record a few years ago.

There were 978 confirmed and estimated opioid-related overdose deaths among Massachusetts residents last year, the Department of Public Health said. That represents a nearly 27% decrease over the 1,336 deaths in 2024, which also saw a sharp drop in fatal overdoses.

DPH says the declining trend mirrors data unfolding nationally.

"This progress, experienced by families across the commonwealth as years of extra joy and life, is the result of a comprehensive and collaborative public health response that has prioritized evidence-based care, community partnership, and compassion," Health and Human Services Secretary Kiame Mahaniah said. "Data show us that providing access to housing, harm reduction, treatment options, and supportive peer communities works to prevent overdose — and the commonwealth will continue its commitment to supporting and expanding access to these tools and services."

A 2024 law expanded access to overdose-reversal drugs like naloxone, installed liability protections for providers and organizations offering drug checking services, and established licensure for recovery coaches. The law did not include a Senate-backed provision to legalize supervised injection sites, and proposals to do so this session are before the House and Senate Ways and Means committees.

Overdose deaths, which claimed more 2,000 lives annually between 2016 and 2023, reached a record high of 2,364 in 2022. The last time Massachusetts recorded less than 1,000 overdose fatalities was in 2013, when the opioid epidemic claimed the lives of 992 residents.

"While a 27% decrease in opioid overdose deaths is encouraging and reflects the impact of sustained investments in prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery support, we must never lose sight of the fact that behind every data point is a person — a loved one, a family member, a friend, a neighbor," Deirdre Calvert, director of DPH's Bureau of Substance Addiction Services, said.

DPH said it is still analyzing the latest data and will release more insights later this summer about how the decrease is reflected across Massachusetts communities.

In its recent report on overdoses in 2024, DPH offered three hypotheses for that year's decrease, including a potentially safer street drug supply, fewer people at risk of overdoses, and expanded overdose prevention resources and services. DPH says overdose deaths rose from 2013 to 2022 due to the "increasing and erratic fentanyl concentrations in the drug supply."

But xylazine, a sedative approved for veterinary use, has become increasingly common in the state's drug supply between 2020 and 2024.

"One hypothesis is that using drugs containing xylazine may protect from fatal overdose by increasing the length of time that people are sedated after using, therefore decreasing the total number of use events," the report says. "Another hypothesis is that due to the sedative effects of xylazine, suppliers may reduce the amount of fentanyl in their product."