This story was originally produced by the Concord Monitor. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
New Hampshire saw the lowest mortality rate involving drug overdoses among New England states in 2024 after having the second highest in the nation a decade ago.
The abrupt turnaround from second-worst in the country behind West Virginia in 2015 to below the national average for drug-related deaths in 2024 was largely due to funding for prevention, treatment and recovery services, according to a study by the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute.
“Funding does not solve everything, but the available evidence indicates resources and strategies devoted to combating substance use disorder over the last decade appear to have yielded some success,” said Jessica Williams, NHFPI policy analyst and the lead author of the study, in a statement. “Sustaining that success may require ongoing and improved investments to help ensure Granite Staters can access the care they need.”
The fiscal policy institute reported that overdose deaths fluctuated in the last decade while funding continued to increase. Deaths fell sharply recently: 287 residents died from drug use in 2024, a 33.4% decrease from 2023.
Since 2014, the state has invested over $834.7 million in substance use prevention and treatment services.
Preliminary data from earlier this year suggested another drop in drug-related deaths, as 77 state residents reportedly died during the same period that 122 people died in 2024.
Treatment center workers told the Monitor in August that progress might be harmed due to potential diversions of state funds to fill budget gaps and federal impacts to Medicare and Medicaid.
The Fiscal Policy Institute warned of the potential for New Hampshire to lose the gains it has made.
“Without continued investment and innovation, the progress made in reducing drug-related deaths could stall, or even reverse, putting more families and communities at risk,” the report states.
