City of Philadelphia – Department of Public Health’s Post

Every year, the PDPH Division of Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction (SUPHR) analyzes data about every overdose death that happens in Philadelphia - including the demographics of individuals who died by overdose, where they lived, and the substances involved. The data, which comes from the PDPH Medical Examiner’s Office, gives insight into the substance use landscape in the City and informs how the City and community-based organizations respond. See the full CHART report here: https://lnkd.in/eDqNRXsT.

  • From 2023 and 2024,overdose deaths decreased by 18% in Philadelphia.

Mirroring national trends, the number of fatal overdoses in Philly has been falling. Patterns in overdose deaths differ by race, drug classes, and geography.
  • In 2024, there were 1,069 fatal overdoses in Philadelphia — an 18% decrease from the 1,310 overdose deaths in 2023 and a 24% decrease from the all-time high of 1,413 deaths in 2022.
  • The steepest fall in overdose deaths were within Philly’s communities of color.

From 2023 to 2024, overdose deaths:
decreased 27% for non-Hispanic (NH) Black individuals
decreased 26% among Hispanic individuals
decrease 4% among
NH White individuals

Though the number of overdoses is decreasing, Philadelphians of color are still disproportionately affected by drug overdoses - especially by stimulant-involved overdoses (see next slide).
  • Stimulants have become more common in fatal overdoses. Of the 1,069 fatal overdoses in 2024: 77% involved opioids (a 24% decrease from 2023); 70% involved stimulants (a 19% decrease from 2023); 50% involved both an opioid AND a stimulant. 1 in 5 overdose deaths (20%) in 2024 involved a stimulant without an opioid – an 8.6% increase from 2023. Stimulant-only deaths continue to disproportionately affect NH Black individuals. In 2024, 70% of individuals who died from a stimulant-only overdose were NH Black. Source: PDPH Medical Examiner's Office.
  • Most common opioids, stimulants and sedatives involved in overdose deaths: Fentanyl was found in 93% (n=764) of opioid-involved overdose deaths. Cocaine was found in 88% (n=660) of stimulant-involved overdose deaths. Xylazine was found in 34% (n=364) of all overdose deaths in 2024; 99% of overdose deaths that involved xylazine also involved fentanyl. Medetomidine was found in 9% (n=92) of overdose deaths in 2024; all overdose deaths that involved medetomidine also involved fentanyl. Source: PDPH Medical Examiner's Office.
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Tremendous work, City of Philadelphia – Department of Public Health Division of Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction 🙏

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