Research suggests steeper decline in overdose deaths, but some groups around Charlotte aren’t seeing it

CHARLOTTE, N.C. ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — There is cautious optimism in the fight against overdose deaths on a national level, as researchers now suggest that we could soon see a larger decline in deaths than the CDC previously outlined.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced in May that the numbers for the first part of the year showed a 10 percent decline nationally in these types of deaths.

On Wednesday, UNC Chapel Hill researcher Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta, released a breakdown of the hypothesis he and other researchers had tested on the issue of overdose deaths and their decline.

According to the university’s website, Dr. Dasgupta has studied drugs and infectious diseases for decades.

While he was not available on Wednesday to provide a comment on his research, a released version of it detailed that his group found, “the dip in overdoses is real, and not a data artifact. It remains to seen how long it will be sustained.”

Their study suggested that there the 2024 year could end with one of the most significant dips in reported overdose deaths in decades.

For context, North Carolina saw a 22 percent decrease as of May, while South Carolina reported a 14 percent decrease.

The study tried to look at various reasons for the optimistic decline, but the study could not find enough evidence to support which effort has worked the best.

The expected sharp decline, Dr. Dasgupta, believes will happen is based on the delay in reporting overdose deaths by several states, which includes North Carolina.

These declines, however, are not being felt in some communities near the Queen City, according to some advocacy groups.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department reported in November 2023 there had been a 20 percent increase in overdose deaths.

They were unavailable to provide updated numbers on Wednesday when asked. Holly Alsobrooks, with Fentanyl Kills U , shared that she still received reports of overdose deaths in her York County, South Carolina, community.

She told Queen City News that as of Wednesday, “we’re at 51 confirmed deaths in York County overdoses, and the year is not over yet. So that’s a lot of people dying. And a lot of these people are kids.”

She lost her son Cody in 2020 from a fentanyl overdose and has since made it her mission to share her family’s heartache to prevent future deaths.

“It’s not going anywhere,” she explained. “We’re not kidding ourselves thinking we’re going to get rid of this drug because we’re not is here to stay. And people have to be afraid and aware.”

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