Overdose in the United States: Lessons from a shifting crisis

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What’s driving the recent decline in US overdose deaths – and how can these insights inform more effective overdose responses? Watch our webinar to find out.

Nearly 3 decades into the overdose crisis, provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates a significant and hopeful shift: a 27% decline in overdose deaths in the US between 2023 and 2024. 

This timely and in-depth webinar unpacks findings from the Opioid Data Lab, featuring expert insights from: 

  • Professor Nabarun Dasgupta, Senior Scientist, University of North Carolina
  • Dr Adams Sibley, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of North Carolina 

This discussion highlights how data and outreach can be combined to examine recent overdose trends and offer practical insights to support proactive responses to overdose.  

In this session

  • The complex interplay of factors behind 3 decades of rising overdose deaths in the US.
  • Recent changes in overdose trends, drug supply and usage.
  • The impact of public policy changes, expanded naloxone access and community-based interventions.
  • Practical implications for US and international drug policy, including principles for understanding overdose data.

This webinar is a must-attend for policymakers, frontline workers and anyone working to respond proactively to drug-related risks in their communities.

Meet the speakers

Professor Nabarun Dasgupta

Senior Scientist, Injury Prevention Research Center and Gillings Innovation Fellow, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina 

Dr Nabarun Dasgupta is a street drug scientist at the University of North Carolina (UNC) with 2 decades of experience in overdose measurement and prevention. His passion is telling true stories about health, with numbers.  

At UNC, Nabarun works at the Opioid Data Lab, a team of scientists exploring difficult questions in overdose prevention. He leads the UNC Street Drug Analysis Lab, which finds patterns with over 12,000 street drug samples analysed.  

He is a co-founder of Remedy Alliance For The People, a groundbreaking non-profit distributor of the overdose reversal antidote naloxone.   

Dr Adams Sibley

Dr Adams Sibley 

Postdoctoral Fellow, Injury Prevention Research Center, University of North Carolina  

Dr Adams Sibley is a social behavioural scientist and postdoctoral fellow with UNC’s Injury Prevention Research Center. He uses mixed-methods data to tell stories that inform harm reduction policy, prioritising community voice and acknowledging the rapidly shifting landscape of the overdose epidemic.  

Adams has extensive experience developing accessible, community-engaged interventions to address the social determinants of overdose. His current research leverages drug checking and harm reduction utilisation data to disseminate emerging trends and best practices to people who use drugs and public health practitioners.  

This webinar is hosted by Dr Jake Dizard, Director of Research, Penington Institute.  

Our Webinar Details

Your story can help drive change

Do you have a personal experience of the impact of overdose to share? We’d love to connect with you.