Overdose Deaths In Michigan Fall For 4th Straight Year

Overdose deaths across Michigan fell in 2025, making it the fourth straight year of decline, according to state health officials.

Preliminary data for 2025 shows there were 1,800 overdose deaths in 2025, compared to 3,096 overdose deaths in 2021. It's a sharp decline from 16.4 deaths per 100,000 residents in 2025 from 30.8 in 2021.

"MDHHS remains committed to continuing programs and partnerships that help reduce overdose deaths, expand treatment options and support long-term recovery," Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel said. "This decrease represents real progress and reflects the impact of sustained, data-driven investments of opioid settlement dollars across Michigan."

Though the trend is encouraging, health officials continue to focus on addressing persistent racial and geographic disparities in both overdose deaths and access to care.

Health officials said urban counties and regions are still seeing higher overdose rates compared to the rest of the state. Numbers show those areas have a 24 percent higher than the total state rate in 2024. Additionally, Black overdose death rates are more than twice that of all other residents.

"While this decline is encouraging, our work is not done," Hertal said. "MDHHS will work with providers, local partners, community organizations and people with lived experience to build on this progress and ensure residents can access the services and support they need."

Health officials credited Michigan's harm reduction program, which they said has been a key component of the state's overdose response.

Since 2019, Michigan has expanded from five agencies offering harm reduction services to 115 community-based sites. The Naloxone Direct Portal was also launched in 2020 to provide free naloxone for community distribution.

Since then, health officials said more than 1.8 million naloxone kits have been distributed statewide, with nearly 34,000 reported to have saved lives.

They also noted the Michigan Opioids Task Force, which Gov. Gretchen Whitmer put together in 2019. The task force has expanded by adding more than 205 recovery housing beds in the last two years, supported telehealth options to improve access to care and expanded access to medications to treat opioid use disorder in 25 county jails.

"Michigan’s progress did not happen by accident," MDHHS Chief Medical Executive and Chair of the Michigan Opioids Task Force Natasha Bagdasarian said. "It is the result of years of work to expand naloxone access, strengthen harm reduction services, improve real-time data, remove barriers to treatment and support people throughout recovery. These are not just statistics. These are parents, children, siblings, friends and neighbors who are alive today because life-saving tools and services were available when they were needed."