Colorado Drug Overdose Deaths Rise as National Trend Falls

Colorado is one of eight states bucking the national trend. While fatal drug overdose deaths dropped 15.1 percent across the U.S. last year, our state saw the opposite. We are in the company of New Mexico and Arizona. We are also grouped with North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Montana. These seven states reported increases of 10 percent or more.

The short version: the national decline is real, but it isn’t universal. And for locals, it means the "crisis is easing" headline is misleading. It’s a national average. It doesn’t reflect what’s happening on I-70 or in the Rio Grande Valley.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released provisional data Wednesday. There were more than 68,600 reported drug overdose deaths by December 2025. That’s down from 80,860 at the same time in 2024. The CDC predicts the real total is higher — more than 69,900. The undercount is significant. But the direction is clear. The U.S. is moving down. We are moving up.

Twenty-eight states saw deaths drop faster than the national average. Four states — Oregon, Rhode Island, North Carolina, and New York, saw declines of more than 30 percent. Nebraska recorded no change. The rest of the country is either improving or holding steady. Colorado is accelerating in the wrong direction.

Why? Brandon Marshall, a Brown University researcher who studies overdose trends, offered a theory. He told the Associated Press that the increases in Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico likely stem from the combined use of fentanyl and methamphetamine. It’s a specific, localized shift in the drug supply. It’s not just fentanyl anymore. It’s a cocktail. And it’s killing people faster.

Deaths peaked at nearly 110,000 in 2022. They shot up during the pandemic due to social isolation and barriers to treatment. As the pandemic waned, deaths declined. Researchers point to several factors. Naloxone is more available. Addiction treatment has expanded. People are using drugs differently. Billions in opioid lawsuit settlement money are flowing into the system. Fewer teens are taking up drugs. The pool of likely overdose victims is shrinking. Some of those users have already died. Regulatory changes in China have reduced the availability of precursor chemicals for fentanyl.

It’s a complex mix. But Marshall warns against complacency.

“I’m cautiously optimistic that this represents really a fundamental change in the arc of the overdose crisis,” Marshall said. “If deaths are going down rapidly, that means they can increase just as rapidly if we take our foot off the gas.”

That warning applies directly to Colorado. We can’t assume the national trend will pull us down with it. The illicit drug supply varies by region. What works in New York might not work in Delta County. The increase here suggests a specific, aggressive drug combination is taking root. It’s not a temporary blip. It’s a structural shift.

The data doesn’t lie. The national story is one of recovery. The Colorado story is one of escalation. We need to stop treating our overdose crisis as a reflection of the national average. It’s not. It’s distinct. It’s driven by fentanyl and meth. And it’s getting worse.

The question isn’t whether the national trend will continue. The question is whether we can reverse our own. The sources suggest the tools exist. Naloxone. Treatment. Settlement money. But if the drug supply is changing faster than we are adapting, those tools won’t save us. We need to watch the specific cocktail. We need to watch the numbers. And we need to stop assuming that "national decline" means "local safety."