The American Medical Association's 2025 report on the nation’s overdose epidemic showed that while opioid-related overdose deaths declined last year, the epidemic remains widespread and increasingly complex, driven by mixing opioids and other substances and an unpredictable illicit drug supply.
Overdose deaths declined from more than 110,000 in 2023 to about 75,000 in 2024, yet there is a tremendous amount of work to be done to sustain and accelerate this progress. This report emphasizes the life-saving role of naloxone and calls on policymakers and others to remove treatment barriers for substance use disorder and pain care.