Courtesy of Kentucky Lantern
Help is available to Kentuckians living with addiction. For resources, visit https://findhelpnow.org/ky. In physical emergencies, call 911. For mental health crises, call or text 988. Locate free Naloxone (Narcan), which can reverse overdoses, near you here.
For the fourth year in a row, the number of Kentuckians who died from drug overdoses declined in 2025, according to the annual overdose report that was released Thursday.
The 2025 Drug Overdose Fatality Report shows overdose deaths are down nearly 23% from 2024.
Gov. Andy Beshear credited grants from the Office of Drug Control Policy, the nearly 183,000 doses of Narcan distributed in the state last year and other efforts in a state among the worst-hit by the opioid crisis.
Still, 1,110 Kentuckians died last year from overdoses. That’s down from 1,439 in 2024, 2,020 in 2023 and 2,200 in 2022.
“In honor of those lost to addiction, we must keep working every day for the inches to become the miles of progress, because that’s how we save more Kentuckians from addiction and help protect more families from the heartbreak and pain that comes with this disease,” Beshear said.
Takeaways from the report
The 34-page report shows methamphetamine and fentanyl were the top culprits in last year’s overdose deaths, present in 50% and 45% of all deaths, respectively. Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is similar to morphine but is 50 to 100 times more potent. Methamphetamine is a synthetic stimulant that is highly addictive.
Other findings in the latest report include:
- Fentanyl was identified in 504 drug overdose deaths, which was a nearly 43% decrease from the 883 drug overdose deaths involving fentanyl in 2024.
- Methamphetamine also declined, identified in 549 drug overdose deaths, which was a decrease of nearly 24% from the overdose deaths involving methamphetamine in 2024.
- In addition to methamphetamine and fentanyl, toxicology results showed the presence of cocaine, acetylfentanyl, oxycodone, heroin and alprazolam in deaths.
- In 2025, most people who died from drug overdoses were between the ages of 45-54, followed by those 35-44 and 55-64. Fewer than five children five years old and younger died.
- Jefferson County had the highest rate of fentanyl-related deaths, followed by Fayette and Kenton Counties.
- Jefferson County had the highest rate of methamphetamine-related deaths, followed by Fayette and Madison Counties.
Speaking at Beshear’s weekly press conference, Office of Drug Control Policy Executive Director Van Ingram said getting the deaths down has “been a long fight” and “there were days that it just seemed impossible.”
“For the fourth year in a row, to see these numbers come down, I can’t tell you what it means to folks out of the field all across this state, that toil every day, working with people in addiction, doing everything they can to help them get in recovery and stay in recovery,” Ingram said.
Beshear asked people to seek help at https://findhelpnow.org/ky.
“We want to provide the resources to help you through it. There is no stigma,” he said. “Asking for help is one of the bravest things that anyone can do. And if you have a family member that you’re worried about suffering through addiction, please reach out, encourage them to get help. We want to get to a point where we end this epidemic in our lifetime and not leave it to our kids and to our grandkids.”
Read the report
Another connected article: Millions in opioid settlement ‘blood money’ headed to KY organizations
Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Linda Blackford for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com.
