Credit: Getty Images.

Every decline in the number of deaths from drug overdose is a sigh of relief. But until the number of deaths reaches zero, there’s no time to celebrate.

New York state saw a 32% drop in overdose deaths in 2024 compared with the previous year. However, as the Times Union’s Raga Justin reported recently, older Black, Indigenous and Hispanic men are dying at above-average rates.

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That tracks, sadly, with a wider trend: As The New York Times reported last fall, a Georgetown University analysis found that in states around the country that keep data on the race of overdose victims, Black Americans' rate of fatal overdoses typically increased between 2022 and 2023, even as the numbers fell for........

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