(Undated) — Unintentional drug overdose deaths are down overall in North Dakota. That’s according to preliminary data released from the state Department of Health and Human Services, which reports between 2019 and 2023, overdose deaths rose 48-percent, peaking in 2022 with 135 deaths in the state. In 2023, that number fell to 113. However, fentanyl related deaths are increasing. Health officials report in 2019, 42-percent of overdose deaths tested positive for fentanyl. In 2023, that number was 77-percent.
