“This is a substantial decline,” Travis County Medical Examiner Dr. Keith Pinckard said.
Fentanyl-related deaths dropped from 279 to 179 individuals between 2023 and 2024, Pinckard said.
How we got here
Since 2021, opioid overdose deaths have surpassed vehicle collisions as the leading cause of accidental deaths in Travis County, according to county officials. Opioid overdoses caused 380 deaths in 2024.
Travis County Commissioners voted to renew a 2022 public health crisis declaration in November. As part of this effort, the county allocated $100,000 for naloxone—a medication used to treat opioid overdoses—and an additional $300,000 for future overdose prevention programs in the upcoming year.
Commissioners also directed staff to prioritize investments in opioid abatement strategies, including expanded access to treatment, increased naloxone distribution and enhanced peer recovery services.
The county has allocated nearly $5 million in federal and local funding to address the opioid overdose public health crisis, County Judge Andy Brown said, adding that in April the county received another $1.4 million in new opioid abatement funding from pharmaceutical settlements.
“While we still have a long way to go, this drop in overdose deaths shows us that the strategies we've implemented are not only working, they're saving lives,” Brown said.
A closer look
In 2024, there were 1,102 emergency medical service dispatches and 878 emergency room visits for overdoses, according to the Austin Public Health opioid overdose dashboard.
While last year saw a slight decline in overdose-related calls, 2025 is shaping up to show a more "dramatic" drop, said Robert Luckritz, chief of Travis County Emergency Medical Services.
To date, there have been 221 emergency medical service calls and dispatches for overdoses in 2025.
Luckritz emphasized that the county’s infrastructure for addressing drug use and overdoses is a “crucial” component in the fight against the crisis.
There have been over 36,000 Naloxone doses distributed throughout the county and over 1,000 individuals trained on overdose response and prevention, according to county officials.
The county has also moved forward with several initiatives that help address substance abuse.
Travis County launched a jail-based substance use intake program in December, opened a mental health diversion center in October, and purchased a building to support a residential and substance abuse treatment facility for women and their children set to open later this year.
One more thing
While the county continues to make progress in reducing opioid-related deaths, local advocates argue that the state could be doing more.
Maggie Luna, executive director of the Texas Harm Reduction Alliance, pointed to several proposals—such as fentanyl test strips and syringe services programs, or SSP—that have repeatedly failed to gain approval in the Texas Legislature.
“[These programs] are evidence-based, and people are five times more likely to enter into treatment if they're in contact with an SSP,” Luna said. “Fentanyl test strips are extremely important. They are [currently] illegal, but they spot fentanyl before someone puts it in their body.”
