Long Island's opioid crisis is finally showing signs of reversal, with overdose deaths dropping by more than half in just three years. The number of people using opioids like heroin and prescription painkillers has plummeted over the past decade, especially among young people, and overdose fatalities fell from 840 deaths in the year ending June 2022 to 414 deaths in the year ending June 2025, according to provisional Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data . While hundreds still die each year, experts say the progress demonstrates that years of targeted interventions are finally paying off.

Why Is Opioid Use Dropping So Dramatically Among Young People?

The decline in opioid misuse among young adults has been striking. The percentage of young adults who used prescription opioids like oxycodone and codeine without a prescription fell from 9.2% in 2010 to just 0.5% in 2024, according to data from an annual University of Michigan study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse . This 18-fold decrease is virtually unparalleled in the history of drug epidemiology. Heroin use has also declined significantly across all age groups during the same period.

Several factors explain this dramatic shift. Stricter laws limiting how many opioids doctors can prescribe have reduced the supply of prescription painkillers entering communities. Better efforts to prevent "doctor-shopping," where patients visit multiple doctors to obtain more pills, have also cut off a major source of illegal opioids. Perhaps most importantly, awareness of the dangers has spread widely. People have witnessed the mounting death toll from fentanyl-spiked drugs and are making different choices as a result.

"People are well aware of the fact that what's out there is killing people," said Tricia Ragusa, a Massapequa resident who has been in recovery from opioid addiction for the past decade and regularly talks with those more recently entering recovery.

Tricia Ragusa, Person in Long-Term Recovery

What Combination of Strategies Is Reversing the Crisis?

The turnaround on Long Island didn't happen by accident. Addiction experts point to a coordinated approach involving multiple interventions working together :

• Stricter Prescription Controls: Laws limiting opioid prescriptions and preventing doctor-shopping have dramatically reduced the supply of prescription painkillers available for misuse, cutting off a major gateway to addiction.
• Expanded Treatment Options: More addiction treatment programs, including outpatient services that don't require inpatient stays, have made recovery more accessible to people who previously couldn't access care.
• Widespread Naloxone Distribution: The anti-overdose nasal spray naloxone has become far more available and widely distributed, saving the lives of people who would have died from overdoses 15 years ago when the medication was rarely accessible.
• Improved Prevention and Education: Better public awareness campaigns and education efforts have helped people understand the risks of opioid use, particularly the danger of fentanyl contamination.
• Support Services Beyond Treatment: Programs that link people in recovery to jobs, housing, and food assistance give people hope and practical reasons to stay sober.

The pharmaceutical industry's role has also shifted. Big Pharma no longer aggressively markets prescription opioids the way it did in the 1990s and 2000s, when aggressive marketing fueled the initial epidemic. This change in marketing practices, combined with increased awareness among both prescribers and patients about addiction risks, has fundamentally altered the landscape.

"From prescribers to consumers, people know the risks now associated with opioid use, and there's not a Big Pharma push anymore to prescribe prescription medications," explained Angela Piccininni, associate director of clinical services for YES Community Counseling Center in Massapequa.

Angela Piccininni, Associate Director of Clinical Services, YES Community Counseling Center

How to Support Long-Term Recovery in Your Community

• Learn CPR and Naloxone Administration: Take a training course to learn how to administer naloxone in case of an overdose. Many communities offer free or low-cost training through public health departments or harm reduction organizations.
• Advocate for Expanded Treatment Access: Support local and state policies that expand medication-assisted treatment options, outpatient programs, and peer support services that don't require inpatient stays.
• Connect People to Wraparound Services: Encourage employers, nonprofits, and community organizations to link people in recovery with job training, housing assistance, and food support programs that address the underlying factors driving addiction.
• Challenge Stigma in Your Networks: Speak up when you hear addiction described as a moral failing rather than a medical condition. Treating addiction as a disease, not a character flaw, opens doors to compassionate care.

What Challenges Remain Despite the Progress?

Despite the encouraging trends, the crisis is far from over. Hundreds of Long Islanders still die from opioid and other drug overdoses every year, nearly twice as many as die from vehicle crashes . Fentanyl remains a persistent threat because it's often mixed into other drugs without users' knowledge, making even experienced users vulnerable to fatal overdoses. Additionally, many people who struggle with opioid addiction still lack access to treatment. The treatment gap remains enormous, with far more people needing help than actually receiving it.

"That's still one a day. That means as you and I talk today, some family is going to wake up in the morning and have to start making funeral plans for a loved one, and their lives will forever be changed," said Jeffrey Reynolds, president and CEO of the Garden City-based Family and Children's Association.

Jeffrey Reynolds, President and CEO, Family and Children's Association

Relapse remains a significant challenge for people in recovery. Some long-time heroin users have died because their bodies couldn't tolerate the fentanyl that had been added to the drug supply. Others switched from prescription opioids to heroin because of stricter prescription laws, only to encounter even more dangerous street drugs. The work of reversing the opioid crisis is ongoing and requires sustained commitment to treatment, prevention, and harm reduction strategies.

The progress on Long Island offers a roadmap for other communities facing similar challenges. By combining stricter prescribing practices with expanded treatment access, widespread naloxone distribution, and comprehensive support services, communities can reverse even deeply entrenched drug epidemics. The key is recognizing that no single solution works alone; instead, a coordinated, multi-faceted approach addressing both supply and demand is what actually saves lives.