The opioid overdose death rate for Michiganders dropped 5.7% in 2023, a rate five times better than the national average, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
Michigan recorded 2,998 opioid overdose deaths in 2022 and 2,826 in 2023, based on provisional numbers provided by the state.
The same data also showed that Black residents are nearly three times as likely to die as white residents from an opioid overdose. Moreover, Native Americans and Alaska Natives were shown to be 2.2 times more likely to die from an overdose.
“The harm-reduction tools we have implemented are saving lives," Michigan Chief Medical Executive Natasha Bagdasarian said in a written statement released Nov. 12, 2024. "But we must ensure that their benefits are felt equally across all communities, particularly among those residents who are disproportionately affected.”
The overall decrease comes in the wake of a number of preventive measures the state has taken, including creating a naloxone direct portal and widespread efforts to train people in the use of the emergency treatment option, commonly called Narcan, which is the brand name for the device used to administer the treatment. Available as a nasal spray, naloxone has been proven to reduce or reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
The state's naloxone portal allows community groups, as well as law enforcement and jails, to request emergency doses at no charge. Michigan has also increased access to fentanyl and xylazine testing strips. Since the launch of the portal in 2020, Michigan has distributed more than a million kits of naloxone across the state at no cost to the receiving communities.
"The state’s commitment to expanding funding for community-based and mobile health services is crucial," said Tommy Stallworth, a senior advisor to the state health department.
"By including substance use disorder interventions and improving access to care in marginalized communities, the state is taking important steps toward addressing these disparities in a meaningful way," Stallworth said in a written announcement from the state health department on the reduction in the death rate.
Leaders of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said the new data will be used in concert with current efforts to target communities most directly in need of help in preventing overdose deaths.
As part of the community investments, the state of Michigan has helped provide more than 20,000 rides for substance use disorder-related services, according to the health department. Transportation was identified as a barrier in almost every community engagement related to substance abuse treatment.
Michigan legalized naloxone distribution in emergency situations in 2016 through House Bill 5326, better known as the naloxone standing order law. The law allows the distribution of naloxone by a pharmacist without the need for an individual prescription.
Universities, including Eastern Michigan University, have provided NARCAN® in AED boxes around campuses in an effort to combat the opioid crisis. In September, EMU held the first in a series of NARCAN® training courses to train students and faculty in the proper use of the life-saving device. The last two training sessions were scheduled for 1-2 p.m. on Nov. 19 and 3 p.m. on Dec. 4 in Room 300 of the Halle Library.
Washtenaw County Health and Human Services preliminary data reports that there have been 31 opioid overdose-related deaths in 2024, a drop from the 56 reported in 2023. Washtenaw County has seen a steady decline in opioid-related deaths over the past several years after building to a peak in 2021 and 2022 with 78 and 80 opioid deaths respectively.
