Where We Stand Now: A Snapshot of the Opioid Crisis in 2025
By Thomas Sandgaard, Founder of The Sandgaard Foundation
Over the past two decades, the opioid crisis has carved deep scars across our communities—claiming lives, devastating families, and burdening our health systems. As Founder of the Sandgaard Foundation, I believe it is essential we regularly take stock: to see what progress we’ve made, what dangers still loom, and where we must direct our efforts next.
The State of the Crisis: What the Numbers Tell Us
Declines, but still alarmingly high death tolls
Recent data shows some hopeful movement. The United States has seen a significant drop in drug overdose deaths from 2023 to 2024. Overdoses dropped by nearly 24% in the 12 months ending September 2024 compared to the prior year. In 2024, total overdose deaths are estimated at about 80,000, down from over 110,000 in 2023. Opioid-involved deaths also declined, with synthetic opioids (like fentanyl) seeing a near 37% drop.While these drops are encouraging, “low” is a relative word: tens of thousands are still dying each year, and many communities remain deeply affected.
Opioids are still overwhelmingly central
Approximately 75–80% of overdose deaths continue to involve opioids, whether prescription, heroin, or synthetic. Synthetic opioids, especially fentanyl and its analogues, remain the most lethal and prevalent threat.Emerging threats & shifting dynamics
The landscape keeps changing:More potent synthetic opioids are emerging in the illicit drug supply, sometimes in forms that mimic prescription pills.
Overdose deaths among older adults are rising sharply.
Social and structural factors—poverty, social isolation, access to treatment, and mental health services—continue to amplify risk.
Where progress is happening — and what’s enabling it
Several interventions are showing promise:Wider distribution and usage of naloxone, the overdose reversal drug, has saved countless lives.
Expanding availability of treatment programs and medication for opioid use disorder is helping more people recover.
Settlement funds and public health policies have begun to shift focus toward prevention, treatment, and recovery rather than punishment alone.
Challenges That Remain
Despite encouraging signs, the battle is far from over. Several serious threats could stall or reverse recent progress:
More potent, less predictable synthetic opioids continue to enter the illicit supply, often without users knowing what they are taking.
Access to treatment is still far too uneven. Many people who need help cannot get it due to insurance gaps, geography, stigma, or lack of resources.
Social determinants and inequities such as poverty and underfunded health systems drive higher risks in vulnerable communities.
The risk of complacency is real. When numbers improve, urgency often wanes, but funding and attention must remain consistent.
Where the Sandgaard Foundation Stands & What We’re Doing
At the Sandgaard Foundation, our mission has always been to band together to end the opioid epidemic by:
Reducing the habitual use of prescription pain medication.
Preventing addiction and supporting those with opioid or other substance use disorders.
Supporting victims and their families—because no one facing this crisis is just a statistic.
Some of the work we are doing includes:
Funding non-traditional coalitions that reshape how we think and talk about pain, addiction, shame, and recovery.
Supporting recovery organizations and housing, giving people in recovery stable foundations to rebuild their lives.
Promoting awareness and education to fight stigma and isolation that too often keep people from seeking help.
What Must Come Next — A Call to Action
To sustain and deepen progress, we must commit to the following:
Invest in prevention upstream. Address overprescription, ensure alternatives for pain management, and tackle social determinants before they lead to addiction.
Expand access to proven treatments. Make medication-assisted treatment widely available, with long-term support rather than short-term fixes.
Scale up harm reduction. Naloxone access, drug testing tools, and safe use education must be normalized.
Strengthen policies and funding with accountability. Settlement dollars and public health budgets must go to real, measurable community solutions.
Open the conversation and fight stigma. Addiction is not a moral failing. We must amplify recovery stories and treat people with compassion.
Hope, But with Vigilance
The recent declines in overdose deaths provide us with hard-won hope—hope that our collective efforts are making a difference. But hope without vigilance is fragile. The shifting nature of the crisis means that what worked yesterday may not fully work tomorrow.
At the Sandgaard Foundation, we are committed to keeping the pressure on, the support growing, and the compassion rising. Because behind every statistic is a human being, a family, a story. We can, and must, do better.
In solidarity and resolve,
Thomas Sandgaard
Founder, Sandgaard Foundation