Updated: February, 2024

Author: Division of Substance Use Programs, Vermont Department of Health

This indicator, or population measure, is part of our Healthy Vermonters 2030 data set. Read more about how this data helps us understand and improve the well-being of people in Vermont on the Healthy Vermonters 2030 webpage.

Because this data is meant to show how the health of our state changes during the decade from 2020-2030, some indicators may have very few data points for now. Keep checking back to see the progress our public health system and partners are making.

We would like to see the rate of opioid-involved drug overdose deaths decrease to less than 33 per 100,000 people by 2030. 2021 is the baseline year for Healthy Vermonters 2030 and data will be updated as it becomes available.

Opioid overdose deaths have increased nearly every year between 2011 and 2022 and have reached record levels in 2020, 2021, and 2022. 

Looking for more data?

• See current and historic data related to opioid overdose and other substance use on the new Substance Use Dashboard.
• See the related national Healthy People 2030 objective for reducing overdose deaths involving opioids.

Reducing drug overdose deaths is a Healthy People 2030 Leading Health Indicator. It is a high priority objective to drive action toward improving overall health and well-being.

Overdoses that involve opioids and those that involve stimulants have both been increasing in Vermont. More people die from opioid overdoses than stimulant overdoses but often more than one substance is involved in any overdose fatality. 

Vermont is also increasingly seeing involvement of substances such as xylazine, gabapentin and benzodiazepines. Like opioids, these substances decrease respiration, but unlike opioids, they do not respond to naloxone which increases risk of experiencing a fatal overdose.

While Vermont has many treatment and harm reduction resources available, deaths have increased as there has been greater involvement of fentanyl, xylazine, and other substances in the drug supply. 

Substances such as xylazine, gabapentin, and other non-opioid drugs cannot be detected with fentanyl test strips. Narcan® (naloxone), a medicine that can reverse an opioid overdose, does not reverse the impact of these substances in an overdose emergency. This can mean a higher risk of death. More information about xylazine is available in this brief: Role of Xylazine in Fatal Opioid Overdoses Among Vermont Residents. 

The World Health Organization recognizes 10 factors that affect health and life expectancy: social gradient, stress, early life experiences, social exclusion, work, unemployment, social support, addiction (i.e., substance use disorder), food, and transportation. The most recent Vermont Social Autopsy Report shows the health disparities that exist among Vermonters who died of drug overdose.  In the report, comparisons are made to the Vermont adult population as a whole to look at differences and disparities from people who died of a drug overdose. This methodology serves as the foundation upon which we can continue to look at the overdose epidemic from many health equity perspectives in an effort to remain responsive in our prevention, intervention, and recovery strategies.

Vermont is addressing overdose deaths through prevention and harm reduction efforts. The Opioid and Stimulant Response Initiatives brief outlines many of these initiatives.

Vermont opioid-related fatal overdose data come from the Vermont Department of Health Vital Statistics System.

The data primarily describe deaths of Vermonters occurring in-state and out-of-state. Drug-related fatal overdoses include accidents and fatal overdoses with undetermined intent unless otherwise stated. All deaths involved at least one legal or illicit opioid. This does not include deaths due to chronic substance use (such as HIV, liver disease, or infection); death due to injury related to substance use (i.e., car accident or falls); or deaths due to medical administration error.

It is important to note that most drug-related fatal overdoses involve combinations of substances. Vermont methodology differs significantly from the national CDC methodology. Vermont searches literal text fields/ICD codes within the death certificate and applies manual review and exclusion criteria to any identified cases, whereas CDC searches ICD codes exclusively and does not apply any exclusion criteria. Therefore, national numbers will not be comparable. Differences between the methodologies are outlined in this 2022 overdose data brief.

Check out the new Substance Use Dashboard for more in-depth and regularly updated substance use data in Vermont.