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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Ryan Holets stated on August 25, 2020 in in a speech at the Republican National Convention: “Drug overdose deaths decreased in 2018 for the first time in 30 years.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" mostly-true/4ac7c61540eff5211f6a04d98a6bc93a.jpg.\\") ![\\"mostly- true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") * Drugs * Health Care * Health Check * Ryan Holets ![\\"Julie](\\" By Julie Appleby August 27, 2020 # Overdose deaths declined in 2018. But there’s more to the story #### If Your Time is short * According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 67,367 people died of a drug overdose in 2018. * Drug overdose deaths decreased from 2017 to 2018, dropping by about 4.1%, according to the CDC. * Still, the number of overdose deaths was four times higher in 2018 than in 1999. * Experts also note that the 2018 decrease was extremely small, that deaths went up again in 2019 and that the numbers for overdose deaths remain at historic highs. See the sources for this fact-check Detective Ryan Holets, whose personal story includes the adoption of an infant born to a drug-addicted mother, addressed the Republican National Convention on its second night. He praised President Donald Trump’s efforts in addressing drug and opioid abuse and noted \"drug overdose deaths decreased in 2018 for the first time in 30 years.\" The detective has worked for the Albuquerque, New Mexico, police department for nine years and was invited by Trump to the 2018 State of the Union address. The year before, Holets promised an addicted mom that he and his wife would adopt her baby — and they did. Holets has seen the results of the nation’s drug crisis both professionally and personally. We reached out to the Albuquerque Police Department for the source of Holets’ data but did not get a response. The nation’s opioid crisis has been a talking point in Trump’s campaign since 2016 — and his administration has touted efforts it has made to provide money to states for treatment and other programs, so we decided to look into it. Did the death rate decline in 2018 as Holets noted? Yes, but that’s not the whole story. First, some context According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 67,367 people died of a drug overdose in 2018. That number exceeded the tally, based on the most recent data available, of those who died either in car wrecks or by firearms. Two-thirds of those drug overdose deaths involved some type of opioid, including those given by prescription or those purchased illicitly, such as heroin. The CDC cites a rise in opioid deaths as coming in three \"waves.\" The origin of the first wave came after doctors began prescribing more opioids for pain relief in the 1990s, with data showing a rise in deaths emerging around 1999, the CDC said. Another wave began in 2010. This one was fueled by deaths involving the illegal use of heroin. The third wave quickly followed, starting in 2013, with increases in deaths associated with synthetic opioids, particularly illicitly manufactured fentanyl. Despite the rising number of deaths, opioid prescribing continued to rise, fueled by marketing campaigns aimed at physicians by drug manufacturers. The total number of opioid prescriptions peaked in 2012 at more than 81 prescriptions per every 100 people in the U.S., according to CDC data. To combat that, a growing number of prescribing recommendations have been issued by physician and hospital groups, aimed at reducing the number of pills per prescription and the total number of prescriptions. The overall prescribing rate fell to 51 prescriptions per 100 people by 2018, according to the CDC. Still, Americans are more likely to fill a prescription painkiller than patients in other countries, and the rate of opioid prescriptions in the U.S. remains among the highest in the world. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" ![](\\" Elizabeth Warren stated on August 25, 2024 in an interview “JD Vance actually sent a letter last year to the Department of Justice saying, ‘enforce the Comstock Act.’” ![\\"true\\"](\\" true/3d4df195c595a07e3fd69b5e4aab3e3c.jpg.\\") ![\\"true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • August 30, 2024 Deaths associated with all types of opioid use — from prescriptions to street use — are a lagging indicator of the number of people dependent or addicted to the drugs, said experts. Improved access to treatments to help people quit, as well as increased use of overdose reversal treatments, such as naloxone, can suppress death rates. The Trump administration has continued and expanded funding efforts, some of which began under President Barack Obama, to help provide treatment, research and other services. Yet the administration is also actively seeking to end the Affordable Care Act, which includes a provision requiring insurers to offer substance abuse treatment and has expanded access to treatment through Medicaid in the majority of states that fully implemented the law. So what happened with drug overdose deaths? Drug overdose deaths did decrease from 2017 to 2018, dropping by about 4.1%, according to the CDC. Still, the agency notes that the crisis is far from over, as the number of overdose deaths was four times higher in 2018 than in 1999. Parsing those numbers further, the decrease in deaths in 2018 came in three categories, with prescription-involved opioid deaths falling the most, a 13.5% decrease, followed by heroin deaths, down 4%. Conversely, deaths associated with the use of synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, rose by 10%. So Holets was correct to say drug overdose deaths fell in 2018. But that statistic doesn’t put the issue in perspective. \"It did decrease slightly, meaning it went from 134 deaths a day to 130 deaths a day,\" noted Dr. Chad Brummett, a director of the Michigan Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network, a collaboration of physicians that makes recommendations on prescribing. \"It’s disingenuous to pretend that was a huge win,\" said Amy Bohnert, associate professor at the University of Michigan. \"As someone who does research on this, I would be reluctant to consider a change of that scale to be clearly a sign of a real change as opposed to random error.\" Brandeis University professor Andrew Kolodny said it was the first overall downtick in drug overdoses in 30 years, but he would parse it a bit for opioids, saying it was the first decline in 25 years. However, a bigger issue for Kolodny is that the speaker failed to mention that drug overdose numbers went up again last year. \"It is misleading to point to a slight reduction in 2018, when deaths went up again in 2019 and we remain at record-high levels of opioid deaths,\" said Kolodny, medical director for the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. The CDC says preliminary data shows reported overdose deaths went up 6% in the 12 months ending in January 2020. Our ruling Holets is correct in saying that overall drug overdose deaths ticked down in 2018, although a small category of deaths — those related to fentanyl — rose. And it’s pretty close to 30 years since a decline was documented. Still, Holets failed to mention that drug overdose deaths went up again last year, according to preliminary data from the CDC. Also left unsaid were other factors that may contribute to the rising or falling drug death rates — and what that may say about the underlying level of dependence or addiction. We rate his statement Mostly True. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Telephone interview with Andrew Kolodny, medical director for the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, Aug. 26, 2020 Email interview with Dr. Chad Brummett, co-director of the Michigan Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network, Aug. 26 Telephone interview with Amy Bohnert, associate professor at the University of Michigan, Aug. 26, 2020 The Washington Post, \"Meet the Albuquerque Police Officer Who Was the Trumps’ Special Guest at the State of the Union,\" Jan. 30, 2018 CNN Health, \"Police Officer Adopts Homeless Mother’s Opioid-Addicted Newborn,\" Dec. 3, 2017 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, \"Understanding the Epidemic,\" accessed Aug. 26, 2020 National Center for Health Statistics, \"All Injuries,\"accessed Aug. 26, 2020 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, \"U.S. Opioid Prescribing Rate Maps,\" accessed Aug. 26, 2020 Kaiser Health News, \"Americans More Likely Than Swedes to Fill Prescriptions for Opioids After Surgery,\" Sept. 4, 2019 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, \"Trump Administration Announces $1.8 Billion in Funding to States to Continue Combating Opioid Crisis,\" Sept. 4, 2019 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, March 20, 2020 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Julie Appleby ![](\\" ![](\\" Al Franken stated on May 17, 2023 in a tweet: \"Americans will get $1.1 B in rebates from health insurance companies this year cuz of a provision I wrote in the ACA.” ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Julie Appleby • June 5, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Power to the Patients stated on April 19, 2022 in a television ad: About a federal hospital price transparency requirement, “Nobody’s enforcing that law.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Julie Appleby • August 9, 2022 ![](\\" logo/a94f4e74532f6298ede173b3d19d08cc.jpg\\") ![](\\" logo/d22255b683f952c5ca292d272e79fbbd.jpg\\") Community Oncology Alliance stated on November 29, 2021 in a radio ad: \"An independent analysis shows that payments for cancer care will be slashed by close to 45% causing cancer clinics to close and massively raising your healthcare costs.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Julie Appleby • December 7, 2021 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on April 19, 2021 in social media posts: “For #Covid vaccines, shingles and even more dangerous and painful skin conditions may be the new thrombocytopenia.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Julie Appleby • April 29, 2021 ![](\\" ![](\\" Rand Paul stated on March 21, 2021 in a tweet: “Sorry Dr Fauci and other fearmongers, new study shows vaccines and naturally acquired immunity DO effectively neutralize COVID variants.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Julie Appleby • March 26, 2021 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 24, 2020 in an executive order: “For example, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, my Administration implemented a program to provide any individual without health-insurance coverage access to necessary COVID‑19‑related testing and treatment.” ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Julie Appleby • October 1, 2020 ![](\\" ![](\\" Cory Gardner stated on September 15, 2020 in a tweet: Says he authored legislation “to guarantee coverage to people with pre- existing conditions -- no matter what happens to Obamacare.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Julie Appleby • September 18, 2020 ![](\\" ![](\\" Ryan Holets stated on August 25, 2020 in in a speech at the Republican National Convention: “Drug overdose deaths decreased in 2018 for the first time in 30 years.” ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Julie Appleby • August 27, 2020 ![](\\" ![](\\" Brett Giroir stated on July 26, 2020 in an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union”: “Five veterinary labs have their CLIA certification to officially test human patients. There are a lot of labs who are doing surveillance testing that don\'t need the CLIA certification.” ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Julie Appleby • August 4, 2020 ![](\\" ![](\\" Mike Pence stated on March 4, 2020 in in a press briefing: “With regard to the cost, let me be very clear: HHS has designated the coronavirus test as an essential health benefit. That means, by definition, it\'s covered in the private health insurance of every American, as well as covered by Medicare and Medicaid.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Julie Appleby • March 6, 2020 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on February 4, 2020 in his State of the Union address to Congress: \"Our new (health care) plans are up to 60% less expensive and better\" than Obamacare. ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Julie Appleby • February 10, 2020 ![](\\" bloggers/ebe00c0612038819cb747e005efe24fb.jpg\\") ![](\\" bloggers/4cffbe2308dbd9f6b736d845d36a1ba4.jpg\\") Christy Harrison stated on August 26, 2019 in a recent New York Times column: \"We have a host of issues associated with high B.M.I.s. But correlation doesn’t prove causation, and there’s a significant body of research showing that weight stigma and weight cycling can explain most if not all of the associations we see between higher weights and poor health outcomes.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Julie Appleby • September 17, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" Amy Klobuchar stated on July 15, 2019 in comments made at an AARP-sponsored Democratic presidential primary candidate forum: \"There are, literally, two pharmaceutical lobbyists for every member of Congress.\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Julie Appleby • July 26, 2019 ### Overdose deaths declined in 2018. But there’s more to the story * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 12, 2024 in an Instagram post: A video shows a body that Israel embedded with a bomb exploding during a Palestinian funeral procession. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2024 in a post: “ESPN has fired Shannon Sharpe.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Gideon Hess • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 12, 2024 in an Instagram post: Former President Donald Trump admitted during the Sept. 10 presidential debate that he “blew up the Nord Stream pipeline.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Loreben Tuquero • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 10, 2024 in a Facebook post: Patron, Don Julio and Pink Whitney tequila recalled because they contained fecal matter. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Elissa Slotkin stated on September 11, 2024 in a TV ad: Mike Rogers supported “laws that could eliminate IVF and birth control.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Caleb McCullough • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 11, 2024 in an Instagram post: \"Debate moderators made the false claim to Donald Trump that there is nowhere in the United States where abortion is legal up until birth.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 12, 2024 in a Facebook post: ABC News fired presidential debate moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Sofia Ahmed • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Yes on 4 stated on September 10, 2024 in a TV ad: Florida’s six-week abortion law has “no real exceptions. Not for her health. Not even for rape.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2024 in una publicación en Facebook: Imagen muestra carnet del Partido Comunista de la vicepresidenta Kamala Harris. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Maria Briceño • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Sam Brown stated on August 28, 2024 in a campaign appearance: Proposed Nevada constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights would put “essentially no limit on access to abortion.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Caleb McCullough • September 13, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. Become a member! In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts. 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Drug overdose deaths decreased in 2018 for the first time in 30 years