Now for some good news! According to data released by Centers for Disease Control, the number of fentanyl-related death in Virginia decreased by 44% from the previous year in 2024.

The best part is that this was the best performance year-to-year of any state across the nation. According to CDC data, the number of drug overdoses (including fentanyl) decreased by only 26.5% nationally between November 2023-2024. This translates to over 1,000 less deaths in Virginia.

It’s easy to understand why Governor Glenn Youngkin is excited about this positive development. This is a ray or sunlight in a dark, gloomy sky of moral and social turmoil.

Youngkin said yesterday, in a release to the press: “Overdose deaths have skyrocketed in America and Virginia due to illicit fentanyl flowing over our southern border.” “With five Virginians dying on average each day, we launched in 2022 a comprehensive campaign to end the scourge fentanyl. It’s working and Virginia is leading.”

The Governor said that Virginia’s success was due to four strategies. These were: stopping the drug trade; increasing penalties for drug dealers; educating the public about the dangers posed by fentanyl and equipping people to save someone in crisis.

Youngkin stated, “We have stopped the drug trade through Operation Free. This is a law enforcement partnership that has been established between federal, state and local agencies in order to crackdown on the drug traffic. We’ve seized enough Fentanyl so far to kill each Virginian ten times over.” We passed laws that ban pill presses and notify parents when their children are overdosed in school.

The First Lady launched it only takes one to educate parents and family members about the dangers posed by fentanyl. Virginia’s right help and right now initiatives have provided more than 400,000 doses of naloxone to Virginians, as well as trained over 100,000 people on how they can use this life-saving drug.

Jason Miyares, Attorney General of Virginia, said that the historic decline in overdoses in Virginia was not a coincidence. Our One Pill Can Kill campaign, in conjunction with Ceasefire Virginia, has done incredible work to educate parents on the severity of the crisis.

According to a press release, VDH distributed 388.584 doses naloxone since July 2022. The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) trained 96 818 people in the delivery of the medication and provided 41 350 doses.