FRANKFORT, Ky. — Overdose deaths in Kentucky have declined for the first time in four years.
The Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center (KIPRC) reported that 2,127 people died from a drug overdose in 2022 — a 5% decrease from the 2,257 overdose deaths in 2021.
"That's a good step in the right direction," said Emily Harsh, BrightView Health's director of justice system outreach. "That's the name of the game right there. We cannot heal people or treat people who are no longer with us."
In a release, Dana Quesinberry with KIPRC said the decline shows prevention efforts are working. Harsh said making Narcan more accessible and Kentucky laws like one connecting drug users who have been arrested to addiction resources in jail, have definitely helped.
"I think we've kind of realized we can't incarcerate our way out of this issue," Harsh said. "This is a medical concern."
In March, Gov. Andy Beshear also signed legislation that would allow Kentuckians without health insurance to enter residential treatment. During the 2022 legislative session, lawmakers also worked to pass a law providing eligible residents an alternative to receive treatment instead of being incarcerated.
While the work has helped, the number of overdose deaths in 2022 is still nearly twice as high as it was in 2018. Harsh said more resources need to be directed toward medical-assisted rehabilitation in jail, as well as a pipeline to sobriety once people are released.
Beshear said in a release there is still more work to be done.
"While we find hope in the decline in drug overdose deaths, this remains a public health crisis that we must continue to work together to address," said Beshear. "We have done a lot of work to help Kentuckians fight addiction, but there is more to do and more lives to save. And I promise to be there every step of the way."
