The opioid crisis is showing signs of improvement, but experts warn that sustained vigilance and funding are essential to prevent resurgence. On Long Island, opioid-related fatalities dropped by more than half between 2022 and 2025, and overdose deaths have fallen nationally after claiming the lives of more than 800,000 Americans over two decades.
Much of this progress comes from expanded access to naloxone, drug treatment, and medications for opioid use disorder. However, drug dealers are not standing still. The crisis has evolved from overprescribed painkillers to heroin, then to fentanyl, and now into a “foreboding fourth wave” of fentanyl analogues and synthetic combinations. Suffolk County recently alerted residents about medetomidine—a synthetic sedative used in veterinary practice that is 200-300 times stronger than xylazine, another veterinary sedative found in the illicit drug supply. These non-opioid compounds are being mixed with fentanyl and other adulterants.
Despite improvements, only about 20% of people who need addiction treatment actually get it. Jeffrey L. Reynolds, president and CEO of the Garden City-based Family & Children’s Association, warns: “In public health, the most dangerous moment is often the one that feels like progress—when the celebrations start, attention drifts, funding erodes, the scaffolding comes down and the epidemic quietly reorganizes itself for the next wave.” Addiction recovery requires housing stability, good jobs, community support, and ongoing access to care—none of which exist at adequate scale.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.newsday.com/opinion/commentary/guest-essays/opioid-epidemic-eu36vgnv