Opinion: Overdose deaths have plunged. We need to know why

It’s one of the biggest public health reversals in decades: Opioid overdose deaths are falling faster than at any point in the modern history of the epidemic. After persistently rising for more than 30 years, deaths peaked at 81,806 in 2022 and fell by almost half, to 44,564, in 2025. The decline helped push U.S. life expectancy to a record high in 2024. Many want to take credit for this miraculous recovery. Vice President JD Vance says it happened because the administration sealed the border. P...