Kentucky saw a decline in overdose related deaths in 2022 but Governor Andy Beshear says there still remains work to be done to get that even lower.
According to the 2022 Overdose Fatality Report, 2,135 Kentuckians lost their lives to a drug overdose last year—that shows a decline of roughly five percent when compared with the previous year. Governor Andy Beshear says 2,135 is a tough number and everyone single one of them was someone’s loved one—but the decline does bring some hope that more people are being saved and beating addiction.
Van Ingram is the executive director of the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy and says that fentanyl is truly a scourge to Kentucky and the nation as a whole.
The report states that 90 percent of overdose deaths involved opioids and fentanyl continues to be the drug contributing to those deaths, accounting for 72.5 percent nationwide in 2022. Methamphetamine was also a significant contributor to overdose deaths.
The governor says there are numerous agencies, law enforcement programs and individuals to thank for the decrease, and the work continues to help Kentuckians battle addiction and get the life saving treatments they need.