Non fatal overdoses have climbed steadily since 2021. The number of deaths linked to drug use has continued to fall over the same period. That is the picture painted by new figures highlighted by the Washington based group United Against Fentanyl.

The organisation points to data from the National EMS Information System, known as NEMSIS, which tracks emergency medical service call outs across the country. Its dashboard shows the rate of non fatal overdoses reached 196 per 100,000 people during the twelve month period ending in May 2026. That compares with 173 per 100,000 in 2023, 184 per 100,000 in 2021 and 135 per 100,000 in 2019.

Paul Martin of United Against Fentanyl says these numbers tell a story often missed in public debate. Overdoses in the United States are at an all time high, he argues, pointing to the steady climb in overdose incidents recorded by EMS crews responding to calls nationwide.

Non Fatal Overdoses Widen Gap With Fatal Cases

The trend becomes more striking once fatality figures enter the picture. The rate of non fatal overdoses rose from 184 per 100,000 people in 2021 to 196 per 100,000 during the most recent twelve month period. Meanwhile the rate of fatal overdoses fell from 32 per 100,000 in 2021 to 23 per 100,000 in 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Martin credits part of that decline to interventions such as naloxone, which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose before it turns fatal. There are more overdoses, but fewer fatalities, he said. The downstream rescue side of the problem is working.

He was quick to add a note of caution. The country has gotten better at catching people after they fall off the cliff. It has done almost nothing to move them away from the edge.

Data Gaps Cloud True Scale of Non Fatal Overdoses

The NEMSIS dashboard does not include figures for 2024 or 2025. United Against Fentanyl acknowledges that this gap limits the comparison. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests the rate of overdose incidents may well have been higher during those missing years than during the period ending in May 2026. That would mean the current figure understates how far things have climbed since the pandemic era.

Even accounting for that uncertainty, the broader pattern holds firm. Communities across the country keep recording a rising number of overdose incidents. Fewer of those events now end in death. That divergence raises fresh questions about what comes next.

Prevention Push Grows to Address Rising Overdose Incidents

United Against Fentanyl is using the figures to push for greater investment in prevention, treatment and recovery services. Emergency response alone cannot solve a crisis that keeps drawing more people towards its edge each year, the group argues. It is also calling on the federal government to work more closely with China to disrupt the supply of precursor chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl, hoping to cut off the problem before it reaches the streets.

For Martin, the message is straightforward. Reducing non fatal overdoses in the long term will require far more than better emergency response. It means addressing why people reach that point in the first place. Early intervention and support can help move them away from the edge rather than simply catching them when they fall.

The debate over how best to respond to America’s overdose crisis is far from settled. Rescue efforts are saving lives in the moment, the latest figures suggest. The underlying number of overdose incidents remains a problem policymakers have yet to bring under control.

Source: thedrugreport