PROVIDENCE — The number of fatal drug overdoses in Rhode Island dropped by about 11 percent during the first half of last year compared to the same period in 2023, continuing a decline in drug-related deaths statewide, newly released data shows.
Between January and June 2024, the state recorded 192 fatal overdoses — a drop from 215 recorded during those six months the previous year — according to data released by the Governor’s Overdose Task Force on Wednesday.
The decrease follows declines recorded in 2023, which saw a 7 percent drop in deaths between January and June compared to those months in 2022, as well as an 8 percent decrease the second half of the year, compared to the same time frame the year before.
“It’s certainly encouraging to see a decrease,” Dr. Jerome Larkin, director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, said during the task force’s Wednesday meeting.
“But of course one death is too many and as we must, we will continue as a task force to identify strategic ways to make an impact.”
The latest figures illustrate a continuing decline. Fatal overdoses initially dipped to a yearly total of 404 in 2023, marking the first time in five years that Rhode Island experienced a decline in drug-related fatalities following a sharp increase in 2019, spurred by a rise in the prevalence of fentanyl.
Yet, fatal overdoses brought on solely by illicit drugs decreased in the first half of 2024, making up 50 percent of all cases, the latest data shows. In contrast, the proportion of fatalities that involved prescription drugs, either alone (16 percent) or in combination with illicit substances (34 percent), rose, officials said.
Opioids contributed to 71 percent of fatal overdoses in the first six months of 2024, while 64 percent of overdoses were brought on by “any stimulant,” documents show.
“In the first six months of 2023 there were 123 stimulant-involved fatal overdoses, and for the first six months of 2024 there were 122, so that number really isn’t changing,” Heidi Weidele, lead fatal overdose epidemiologist for the Department of Health, said Wednesday. “What is changing is the total number of fatal overdoses that we’re seeing occur in Rhode Island, which, it’s great that we’re seeing deaths decrease, it’s just that we’re not seeing the same decrease specifically among stimulant-involved deaths.”
Weidele’s presentation showed stimulant and cocaine-involved fatal overdoses were more common among “non-Hispanic, Black individuals” compared to “Hispanic or Latino and non-Hispanic, white individuals.”
As for why stimulant-involved deaths have failed to drop, the reasons are “not always clear,” Weidele said.
She thinks the changing data could be in part thanks to outreach work around the state, from the distribution of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone and fentanyl tests to campaigns raising public awareness about fentanyl’s inherent risks.
Treatment availability also could be playing a role, she said, adding that she was uncertain if fewer available options for stimulant treatment could be a factor.
Additional data in the coming months will help give officials insight into “whether or not individuals had access to treatment and what other circumstances were happening in their lives,” she added.
“But for now, that’s definitely something that we want to look more into,” Weidele said.
The landscape of drug treatment in Rhode Island is indeed changing.
Providence, for example, is poised to make state history once a planned safe injection site opens. The center at 45 Willard Ave. still needs to receive a final green light from state health officials before it can open its doors, but once it does, the facility will be able to serve 16 people at a time.
Staff will not provide drugs, but will offer individuals clean needles, fentanyl test strips, and trained personnel ready to treat an overdose, if needed.
The data released Wednesday showed Providence had the state’s second highest rate of fatal overdoses between January and June last year at 53.8 per 100,000 residents, behind Woonsocket at 55.8 overdoses per 100,000 residents.
Pawtucket ranked third; Cranston was fourth; and Warwick was fifth.
Statewide, the overdose rate was 29.4 overdoses per 100,000 residents, and there was at least one fatal overdose in nearly every city and town in Rhode Island during the first half of 2024, officials said.
Christopher Gavin can be reached at christopher.gavin@globe.com.