Fatal overdoses have dramatically declined in Allegheny County
There is a ray of hope in the opioid crisis that has claimed so many lives in southwestern Pennsylvania and across the nation: fatal overdoses have dramatically declined.
The opioid epidemic hit southwestern Pennsylvania hard, with fatal overdoses claiming an average of two lives daily in Allegheny County. But almost suddenly, the county has seen a dramatic drop in the number of people dying.
"It's a relief," said David Loveland of the Allegheny County Department of Human Services. "It's been so distressing to see it rise for all those years. We've seen a 30 to 40 percent drop in fatal overdose rates here in Allegheny County."
According to county records, fatal overdoses began dropping just over two years ago. Overdoses suddenly fell from 665 in 2023 to 432 in 2024. So far, the preliminary number of deaths in 2025 shows an even further decline to 344.
The primary reason behind the drop appears to be the diminishing presence of the lethal drug fentanyl in the drug supply, which began disappearing after China bent to international pressure and clamped down on companies exporting the chemicals to make the drug.
"It appears they clamped down on them about the exact same time that we saw the drop," Loveland said. "And we do know the concentrations of fentanyl are going down. "
The organization Prevention Point Pittsburgh has quantified the reduction in fentanyl by sending samples of street drugs collected in Pittsburgh to the University of North Carolina for testing. Three years ago, they found fentanyl in 85 percent of the drugs sold. That fell to 77 percent in 2024. Last year, only 59 percent of the drugs sold as fentanyl actually contained the drug.
"In 2025, 40 percent of the samples we were seeing that are expected to be fentanyl contained no fentanyl or only a trace amount of fentanyl," Alice Bell of Prevention Point Pittsburgh said.
Prevention Point also pioneered the distribution of the overdose reversal drug Naloxone, which is now readily available. Bell says less fentanyl and the use of Naloxone have resulted in a dramatic decrease in deaths, but says the danger isn't over.
"The big concern with an unregulated drug supply is people do not know what they're getting, and so if you have one batch that has a normal amount of fentanyl in it, we could see people dying," Bell said.
Of course, the best way to stay alive is to use safer, regulated alternatives like methadone or suboxone or get off opioids completely. Over at the Onala Recovery Center, programs director Jenni Bloodworth says access to a variety of treatment options in the region has never been better.
The Trump administration had proposed cutting $2 billion in federal funding for addiction treatment, but it backed off on those cuts.
"Access to treatment, Naloxone distribution, peer support, those are effective strategies. And when they are appropriately implemented, we save lives," Bloodworth said. "If we cut funding for treatment or for harm reduction services, more people will die."
And so deaths are down primarily because fentanyl is in short supply, but unfortunately, the problem doesn't end there. Those selling the drugs are replacing them with a less lethal, but very strong tranquilizer, called medetomidine, which results in severe withdrawal symptoms. The ultimate hope is that more users will avail themselves of treatment.