Kentucky overdose deaths declined by 30.2% in 2024
By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News
In 2024, 30.2% fewer Kentuckians died from drug overdoses than the year before, marking the third year in a row the state’s overdose rate has declined.
The 2024 Drug Overdose Fatality Report, released Thursday, May 1, shows 1,410 Kentuckians died from an overdose last year, down from 2,020 in 2023. The 2023 number reflects adjustments made to last year’s report from death certificates that came in after it was originally released.
Gov. Andy Beshear celebrated the decrease at his Thursday news conference and said there would be a formal celebration in the Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday, May 6. He also noted that the celebration “does not come without pain.”
“That’s 1,410 too many people that we lost,” he said. “These are people’s friends and family members, each one a child of God taken from us far too soon.”
The 2024 drop in overdose deaths far exceeds the 8.2% drop in 2023 and the 2.5% drop in 2022, which was the first drop in Kentucky overdose deaths since 2018.
Black Kentuckians, who had not previously seen a decrease, saw a 37.3% decrease in overdose deaths in 2024, from 271 deaths in 2023 to 170 deaths in 2024.
Still, the overdose death rate among Black Kentuckians remains higher than white Kentuckians. The 2024 overdose rate among Black residents was 43.3 deaths per 100,000 Black residents, compared to 31.6 deaths per 100,000 white residents, a 37% difference.
Toxicology results showed that fentanyl was present in 878 overdose deaths, or 62.3%, and methamphetamine was present in 716 overdose deaths, or 50.8%, according to the report. The two continue to be the most prevalent drugs contributing to overdose deaths in the state.
The report also indicates that all but one Kentucky age group saw a decrease in overdose deaths, with the only increase being among those ages 75 to 84, with an increase to 16 drug overdose deaths in 2024, up from nine in 2023.
The age group of 35- to 44-year-olds had the highest number of drug overdose deaths in 2024 at 379, a decrease of 34.8% from the prior year when 581 in this age group died from an overdose.
Lee County had the highest rate of drug overdose deaths in 2024, 15.6 per 10,000 residents. After that came Knot (13.45), Breathitt (12.06), Powell (10.98), and Estill (8.54).
Rates for 73 of the state’s 120 counties were not released because they had fewer than 10 drug overdose deaths. The actual numbers of overdose deaths in a county were not released if it had fewer than five.
Office of Drug Control Policy Executive Director Van Ingram, who has held this position since 2004, said Kentucky has been waiting on this day for a long time.
“Today shows the efforts we’ve been making will work over time,” he said. “They will work.”
But the work is not done, he added.
Data for the report came from the Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office, Kentucky coroners, the Kentucky Injury Prevention & Research Center and the Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics.
Kentuckians who are struggling with addiction or who are concerned about a family member’s substance use can search for treatment providers at FindHelpNowKy.org or contact the KY HELP Statewide Call Center at 1-8338-KY-HELP (1-833-859-4357).