RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia is seeing progress in the fight against fentanyl, with officials reporting a 23% decrease in overdose deaths from the drug over the past year. This reduction places Virginia among the top states nationally, with only two states showing a larger decline.
Attorney General Jason Miyares (R - Virginia) announced the news during a fentanyl update in Richmond on Tuesday, calling it a positive development in the state's ongoing battle against the opioid crisis. Miyares credited a multifaceted approach led by the Youngkin administration, including community outreach, awareness campaigns, drug enforcement, and overdose training.
"This is no small achievement, and it shows our collaborative approach is working," Miyares said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that fentanyl deaths have also decreased across the country in line with Virginia’s progress. While the decline is encouraging, both lawmakers and families affected by the crisis emphasized that much more work remains to be done.
"While we're making progress, incredible progress, we know the fight is far from over," Miyares said.
Debra Frisk and Faith Silveira, both of whom lost loved ones to fentanyl overdoses, attended the event in Richmond.
The two women, who became friends through their shared advocacy, said they were hopeful but wanted continued action to address the issue.
"A lot of people think that it's not going to happen to my family," Frisk said. "There are still people that I find that have not heard anything about fentanyl in my area which I find hard to believe with all the advocating we’ve been doing."
Fentanyl overdoses remain the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45.
Governor Glenn Youngkin (R - Virginia) also spoke at the event, emphasizing the need for continued efforts to combat fentanyl distribution. He called for more legislative tools to hold manufacturers and dealers accountable and pledged to expand education and training programs across the state.
"What we’re doing works. We just need to do even more," Youngkin said.
Officials noted that the state's education campaigns, initially focused on southwest Virginia, will now expand to cities such as Richmond, Norfolk, Fairfax, and Virginia Beach.
While the decline in deaths is a step forward, officials acknowledged that certain areas of the state, including Richmond and Petersburg, continue to struggle with some of the highest fentanyl death rates per capita. These cities will remain a focal point of the state’s ongoing outreach and prevention efforts.
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