LANSING – As the opioid crisis continues to grip the United States, the overdose rate in Michigan has declined in recent years.

Health officials and lawmakers are tackling the crisis by expanding access to life-saving medications and strengthening support for substance use disorder treatments.

Michigan has a lower overdose rate than the national average: the national rate per 100,000 people was 31.5, while the state rate was 28.2.

“Since the end of the pandemic, nationally and in Michigan, these numbers have declined, but Michigan is faring much better than the national trend,” said Natasha Bagdasarian, the state’s medical director. “We are seeing a decline nationally, but our decline has been more pronounced. »

The number of overdose deaths in 2023 was 2,826, down from 3,096 in 2021, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.

However, she pointed to a large racial disparity in overdoses and said the decline was primarily among white Michigan residents.

In 2023, when the state’s overall overdose rate was 28.2 per 100,000 residents, the rate for white residents was 22.6 and for black residents it was 64.5.

“One of the priorities is to ensure that these tools are made available to the hardest hit communities, and it is also very important to understand how dangerous the drug supply is in various communities,” he said. Bagdasarian said.

She chairs the Michigan Opioid Task Force, which began in 2022. The group includes staff from several state departments working to prevent drug abuse and make treatment more accessible.

She said the response to opioids has four pillars: prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery. Administration of Narcan is part of harm reduction.

Naloxone, the generic name for Narcan, is a highly effective medication that saves lives and reverses overdoses.

Gary Wadaga, director of Bay Ambulance in Baraga and a paramedic for 43 years, said his department used to receive two calls a month for drug overdoses, and that number has dropped to one.

He said, “I truly believe that the number of calls for opioid overdoses, including heroin, has been high. Our calls have been significantly reduced since Narcan became more readily available.

Wadaga said all paramedics carry Narcan with them and also have extra Narcan that they can leave with the patient or their family in case of a future emergency.

“The scary thing is that the opiate can survive the effects of Narcan,” Wadaga said. “If they’ve really loaded up and they’re given Narcan, they can pretty quickly return to the state they were in before Narcan was administered.”

Bibhas Singia, vice president and medical director of inpatient and residential services at Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services, said Narcan will only reverse opioid overdoses, not all medications.

The organization has clinics in the Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Hastings, Holland and Traverse City areas.

In the case of an overdose, Singia said there are too many opioids in the brain. It depresses the part of the brain that signals the chest to breathe, and breathing stops when that signal is removed.

“What Narcan does is it goes into the blood, gets into the brain, then dislodges the opioid that’s attached to the receptors, and then suppresses the respiratory depressant activity of the opioid — and people can breathe again,” Singia said. .

Legislation aimed at increasing access to naloxone is currently under review, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Experts say those who survive an overdose may have long-term mental and physical health problems.

Physically, Singia said, an overdose can permanently damage parts of the brain, which can lead to a stroke later in life. It can also have adverse cardiovascular effects and permanently damage heart muscles.

Psychologically, Singia said, people may find themselves with different perspectives when surviving an overdose. Some may see this as a wake-up call and choose to receive help and participate in support groups. Others may experience symptoms of depression and feelings of helplessness.

“I also don’t want us to forget the very significant effects of an overdose on family members, the community and society,” he said.

“If someone, unfortunately, dies from an overdose, it has extreme effects on the mental health of their loved ones, family members and community. Even if they survive, it can still cause feelings of fear, anxiety, depression and worry in their loved ones.

Bagdasarian said prevention and recovery efforts have allowed the rate to decrease across the state. This includes educating young people about drug addiction.

She said the earlier in life people tried drugs, the more likely they were to develop a substance use disorder later in life.

For treatment, she said the task force is trying to ensure access to resources such as medication, transportation and housing. This includes ensuring that facilities providing care for people with these disorders are adequately staffed.

She said reducing overdoses and increasing recovery comes “by listening to the people who work on this issue every day, who work directly with clients and people with lived experience in every community across the state.”