Overdose deaths in Pennsylvania fell 18 percent from 2017 to 2018, according to a news release issued by Governor Wolf’s office.

The decline results, according to the news release, from a combination of prevention, rescue, and treatment.  These and efforts, including the distribution of free naloxone, a drug that helps rescue those who have overdosed on some drugs, have been funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and Pennsylvania’s own Substance Use Disorder Loan Repayment Program, which assists health care professionals who work in the behavioral health field with the cost of their education.

At the same time, however, overdose deaths in Pennsylvania from stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamines continue to rise.

Learn more about the decline in overdose deaths in Pennsylvania and how it has come about from a news release from the governor’s office and the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat article “State OD deaths dropped 18 percent in 2018; stimulant deaths rose.”