Montana News
Opioid overdoses are down nationwide, but addiction experts aren't sure why
With Montana News, I'm Elinor Smith. Opioid overdose deaths are trending down nationwide. And early data indicates the number of 911 calls for overdoses in Montana are also falling. But why that's happening and whether deaths in Montana will decline is hard to say. MTPR's Erin Bolton explains. - Drug overdose death rates nationwide are down 10% compared to last year, according to federal data. That's a big drop in contrast to the skyrocketing overdose death rates seen over the past few years, along with an increasing supply of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid. According to state data, emergency responses to suspected opioid overdoses declined 20% in the first half of this year, compared to the same period in 2023. But the number of overdose deaths in Montana this year haven't been released. Why overdoses are falling nationally is a bit of a mystery. Addiction experts say fentanyl supplies are dwindling in the Eastern US. Keith Wise is with the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, a partnership between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. He says he's aware of those reports. - We haven't seen a diminished supply yet here in the Rocky Mountain region. - Wise says the volume of fentanyl seizures in Montana may be the same as 2023, which was a record-breaking year. Fentanyl pill prices also remain low at about $5, meaning there are plenty of those pills on the black market. He says it's too early to tell if supplies here will drop like in other parts of the country, but he says there may be signs that could happen. Federal investigators are finding some batches of fentanyl are weaker than in the past, which may mean traffickers are trying to stretch supplies. In Columbia Falls, I'm Aaron Bolton.