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Introduction
Overdose death rates in the U.S. have more than
doubled over the past decade, surpassing motor
vehicle accidents as the leading cause of injury-related
death in the country.1
According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), nearly 44,000 people died from an
accidental or intentional drug overdose in the U.S. in
2013 an average of 120 deaths every day.2 Roughly
eighty percent of these deaths (over 35,000) were
accidental, and more than 16,000 involved prescription
opioids, compared to 8,260 attributed to heroin.3
Evidence indicates that, as some people who use
prescription opioids have switched to heroin in recent
years, heroin overdose deaths have begun to
increase.4
Many of these deaths could have been prevented.
Proven strategies are available to reduce the harms
associated with drug misuse, treat dependence and
addiction, improve immediate overdose responses,
enhance public safety and prevent fatalities. These
strategies include expanding access to the life-saving
medicine naloxone and its associated training;
improving fact-based drug education for young people
that includes an overdose prevention and response
component; enacting legal protections that encourage
people to call for help for overdose victims; and
training people how to prevent, recognize and respond
to an overdose.
Drug Policy Alliance | 131 West 33rd Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10001
nyc@drugpolicy.org | 212.613.8020 voice | 212.613.8021 fax
Drug Policy Alliance | 131 West 33rd Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10001
nyc@drugpolicy.org | 212.613.8020 voice | 212.613.8021 fax
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Similar successes have been reported at communitybased naloxone programs across the country:
Drug Policy Alliance | 131 West 33rd Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10001
nyc@drugpolicy.org | 212.613.8020 voice | 212.613.8021 fax
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Drug Policy Alliance | 131 West 33rd Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10001
nyc@drugpolicy.org | 212.613.8020 voice | 212.613.8021 fax
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Drug Policy Alliance | 131 West 33rd Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10001
nyc@drugpolicy.org | 212.613.8020 voice | 212.613.8021 fax
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Drug Policy Alliance | 131 West 33rd Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10001
nyc@drugpolicy.org | 212.613.8020 voice | 212.613.8021 fax
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Drug Policy Alliance | 131 West 33rd Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10001
nyc@drugpolicy.org | 212.613.8020 voice | 212.613.8021 fax
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Drug Policy Alliance | 131 West 33rd Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10001
nyc@drugpolicy.org | 212.613.8020 voice | 212.613.8021 fax
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Drug Policy Alliance | 131 West 33rd Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10001
nyc@drugpolicy.org | 212.613.8020 voice | 212.613.8021 fax
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Drug Policy Alliance | 131 West 33rd Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10001
nyc@drugpolicy.org | 212.613.8020 voice | 212.613.8021 fax
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