The little-known program contributing to a decline in overdose deaths in the US

Crisis intervention training helps police recognize substance use disorders and connect people with treatment

Overdoses have been declining nationally since the fall of 2023, and public health experts have been unable to agree as to why. The decline has been uneven across states, and West Virginia, long known as the epicenter of the opioid crisis, is also among the states that have most reduced overdose fatalities, as noted in a recent Guardian analysis.

One little explored factor is the increased adoption of crisis intervention training (CIT) for law enforcement. Early research that compares jurisdictions that have CIT programs to those that do not show that this intervention is associated with a decline in overdose fatalities.