The number of fatal opioid overdoses in Phoenix declined during 2024 as more overdose patients had the overdose-reversing drug naloxone administered to the before emergency services arrived.
However, early data from 2025 shows a large increase in total overdoses in the city.
Staff from the Phoenix Office of Public Health attributes the improved rate of stopping fatal overdoses in part to the city’s program to distribute naloxone for free. The program, launched in August 2023, has distributed nearly 30,000 naloxone kits from libraries and other sites across the city. Each kit includes two naloxone nasal sprays and education materials.
