The 2024 Drug Overdose Fatality Report Show a Decline of Overdoses per County in Kentucky but Lee County Still Struggles

According to the 2024 Drug Overdose Fatality Report, for the third year in a row, the Beshear-Coleman administration has secured a decrease in drug overdose deaths.

• In 2024, there were 1,410 overdose deaths. This is a decrease of 30.2% from 2023.
• In 2023, there were 1,984 overdose deaths. This was a decrease of 9.8% from 2022.
o Disclaimer: When this report was released in 2023, it reported a total of 1,984 drug overdoses for a reduction of 9.8%. As new death certificates were entered into the
database, mostly from deaths among Kentucky residents who dies in another state, this count has increased to 2,020 drug overdose deaths for a decrease of 8.2% from
2022 to 2023.
• In 2022, there were 2,200 overdose deaths. This was a decrease of 2.5% from 2021 and was the first year Kentucky saw a decrease in overdose deaths since 2018.
• In 2021, there were 2,257 overdose deaths. This was a 14.5% increase from 2020 and was the highest number of overdose deaths ever reported in Kentucky.
• In 2020, there were 1,964 overdose deaths. This was a 49% increase from 2019. 

According to the 2024 Kentucky Drug Overdose Fatality Report, 1,410 Kentuckians lost their lives last year to a drug overdose. Among Black Kentucky residents, 170 died from a drug overdose, a decrease from 271 in 2023, marking a 37.3% decrease. Fentanyl was present in 62.3%, and methamphetamine was present in 50.8% of overdose deaths. The two continue to be the most prevalent drugs contributing to overdoses in the state. The report also indicates that all Kentucky age groups saw a decrease in overdose deaths, with the only increase among those ages 75-84. Since taking office, the Beshear-Coleman administration has worked tirelessly to fight the drug epidemic in Kentucky by increasing treatment resources and law enforcement support. Due to these efforts, in 2024, Kentucky saw:

• $29,754,033 distributed in grant and pass-through funding from the Office of Drug Control Policy;
• 170,000 doses of Narcan distributed;
• 84 syringe exchange program sites served 27,799 unique participants;
• 142,312 Kentuckians received addiction services through Medicaid;
• 17,399 Kentuckians received treatment paid by Kentucky Opioid Response Effort;
• 17,984 Kentuckians received recovery services (house assistance, employment services, transportation, basic need services, etc.) in their community paid by Kentucky Opioid
Response Effort; 

• 19 Kentuckians sought treatment through the Kentucky State Police Angel Initiative;
• 3,329 incoming calls made to the KY HELP Call Center with14,087 outgoing follow upcalls; 
• 21 counties now certified as Recovery Ready Communities representing 1,495,518 Kentuckians.

The Governor has continued to fight the state’s drug epidemic from his time as Attorney General, when he led the nation in the number of individual opioid lawsuits filed by an Attorney General. Now, Gov. Beshear is working to make sure the hundreds of millions of dollars in settlement funds go to treatment and the communities impacted.

Recently, Gov. Beshear announced that Kentucky secured another low recidivism rate. Nearly 70% of people released from state custody over the past two years have not been reincarcerated. Since 2022, out of nearly 13,000 individuals released from state custody, 8,930 have not returned. For those inmates, the current recidivism rate is 30.81%, which is 1.6% lower than the prior year.

The state’s Treatment Access Program also allows those without health insurance to enter residential treatment, and the Recovery Ready certification helps communities support residents who are seeking help for drug or alcohol addiction. 

The Beshear-Coleman administration created a website to help people in recovery find housing, FindRecoveryHousingNowKY.org, and a website to support Kentuckians seeking second chances find a job, get an education or continue recovery, SecondChance.ky.gov. The site also connects business leaders with resources to help them hire second-chance talent.

Overall, the report says Fentanyl continues to be the leading drug in overdose deaths here in Kentucky, with Lee County having the highest drug overdose death rate per capita.