Bladen, Columbus, Robeson, and Scotland counties saw significant decreases in the number of fatal drug overdoses in 2024.
Robeson County, the largest in the Border Belt, saw a 56 percent drop in fatal overdoses last year compared to 2023, according to projections from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Still, 53 people died of drug overdoses in Robeson last year, one of the highest rates among North Carolina’s 100 counties.
Bladen and Scotland counties also saw among the highest rates of fatal overdoses per 100,000 people, although they too saw decreases. Fourteen people died in Scotland County last year, a 19% decrease from the year before. Thirteen died in Scotland, a 38% drop.
Eighteen people died in Columbus County, a 36% decrease.
North Carolina saw a 26.3% drop in fatal drug overdoses last year. Health advocates say harm reduction—including the distribution of the opioid overdose-reversing drug naloxone, syringes, and fentanyl test strips—that help people use drugs more safely has played a major role in the decrease. They also credit increased access to treatment programs.
A drop in fatal overdoses comes after years of increases fueled by heroin and fentanyl. The decrease now corresponds with a drop in drug-related emergency department visits. That is welcome news to rural hospitals, which have been disproportionately affected by the opioid epidemic.
