In the first half of this year, 43 people died of drug overdoses in Johnson County, Kansas — down from 51 during the same period last year and 57 the year before, according to county health officials.
Across the state line in Missouri, Jackson County health officials saw a similar trend. After dropping 10% last year, preliminary data suggests a 34% drop in the second quarter of 2024.
It’s a remarkable turnaround, because overdose deaths have climbed every year across Kansas and Missouri — often by double-digit percentages — for nearly all of the past decade. The local data mirrors recent national trends: Surveys from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a roughly 10.6% decline in drug deaths.
Marvia Jones, the health director in Kansas City, Missouri, said she feels optimistic about the progress.
“One of the things that we're considering as a health department is the lens of people who are using substances,” Jones said. “We're looking to see what kinds of support we can offer in advance of it spiraling to the point where they have an overdose.”
Public health experts in the metro say they can’t put a finger on one specific reason for decline. The data just isn’t complete enough yet. But they have several ideas about contributing factors.
Chief among them is harm reduction, an approach that incorporates public health strategies to empower people who use drugs to live healthier lives.
Among those strategies is increased distribution and usage of Naloxone, more commonly known by its brand name Narcan, a medication that reverses most opioid overdoses.
Reagan Williams, a program and policy specialist with Jackson County Public Health, said Narcan distribution is one of their priorities in combating overdose deaths. Williams said the county has partnered with various organizations, like Raytown EMS and even a local barbershop, to increase awareness and distribution of Narcan.
“Raytown EMS also wanted to have a station where people can come and get Narcan for free and we provide all that information and resources and equipment for them,” Williams said. “It's almost like building community resilience and agency.”
According to No Mo Deaths, a program run by the Missouri State Department of Mental Health, 73 counties across the state help distribute naloxone throughout their communities. There are also 85 community-based organizations distributing the medication and 45 Narcan vending machines.
In 2022, a partnership between the state and the University of Missouri- St. Louis resulted in 120,000 doses distributed across the state.
Kansas City has several dozen locations where people can call ahead or walk in to get Narcan.
Still, it’s unlikely that just these efforts are enough to trigger such a turnaround. Health officials also pointed to increased funding and advocacy for addiction treatment and health care services.
Williams said much of her focus is on the awareness side, trying to help reduce stigma around overdose deaths and harm reduction strategies.
This can include creating materials like wallet cards with information people can have on their person in case of emergency, or partnering with hospitals and law enforcement to ensure everybody is on the same page about how to approach these situations.
Others suggest the end of the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with a high number of people who have already died of drug overdoses could be causing the decrease.
But even with these changes, there is more to be done. Nearly 2,000 people died of overdoses in Missouri last year, and 738 Kansans died of overdoses in 2022.
Charlie Hunt, the health director in Johnson County, said it’s important his office doesn’t get complacent just because they are starting to see improvements.
“We have to continue to develop strategies to make sure people have access to and can afford the correct treatment,” Hunt said. “And so we need to make sure that we're continuing to monitor, what's contributing to the overdoses, both the overdose deaths as well as the non-fatal overdoses.”
Some researchers suggest the data will show even larger declines when synced up with improvements at the state level, where the drop in mortality numbers corresponds with a decline in emergency room visits linked to overdoses.
These improvements could mean as many as 20,000 fewer fatalities per year.
Information about where and how to access Narcan is available on websites for Kansas and Missouri. Members of the public can also request supplies from the University of Missouri-St. Louis via the Get MO Naloxone webpage.
