FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced Thursday that for the second-straight year, overdose deaths in the state decreased.
According to the 2023 Kentucky Drug Overdose Fatality Report, 1,984 Kentuckians lost their lives last year due to a drug overdose. That is a 9.8% decrease from the statewide overdose deaths in 2022.
Kentucky was one of just eight U.S. states to see a decrease in statewide overdose deaths in 2023. Across the United States, there was overall a 3% decrease in overdoses. This was the first time overdoses decreased nationally since 2018.
Fentanyl accounted for 79.1% of Kentucky's total overdoses last year while methamphetamine accounted for 55.2% of overdose deaths. According to the governor, these two drugs continue to be the most prevalent drugs contributing to overdoses in the state.
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“By working together, we have decreased the amount of drug overdose deaths in Kentucky, yet still far too many lives have been lost, and we still have a long way to go,” Beshear said. “From the far west to the far east of the commonwealth, we are creating a home where fewer children will know the pain of addiction and loss of a loved one to an overdose. We have remained committed to helping our families overcome addiction and celebrate our progress and renew that commitment today.”
Though as a whole overdose deaths statewide are down, Gov. Beshear said there continues to be a concerning trend of increased overdose deaths among Black Kentuckians. The latest report shows that increase has slowed by increasing 5% compared with 22% in the last report.
“This increase is concerning, despite it being smaller than previous years,” Beshear said. “We are committed to working with community partners and leaders to reverse this trend, and we are going to use recently received grant funding to increase education and outreach efforts.”
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