Substance use is a severe concern in Louisiana, which has one of the highest overdose death rates in the nation, though deaths have been falling sharply. Key figures:

• 49 drug overdose deaths per 100,000 people in 2023, one of the highest rates in the nation, according to USAFacts.
• 2,224 overdose deaths in 2023.
• 76% of drug deaths involved an opioid.
• Overdose deaths fell 30.8% from 2023 to 2024, the lowest since 2020, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.
• Fentanyl and synthetic opioid deaths dropped 34.6% in 2024.
• Stimulant-involved deaths fell 26.5%.

Louisiana’s crisis peaked recently and is now easing fast. After years of rising deaths, the state saw a steep 30.8% drop in 2024, the lowest number since 2020, mirroring the national decline.

Louisiana expanded Medicaid in 2016 under Governor John Bel Edwards, becoming the first Deep South state to do so. The state’s Department of Health, through its Office of Behavioral Health, oversees substance use treatment. Of the 157 facilities listed below, 135 accept Medicaid.