Despite serious cases, Baltimore overdoses continue to decline

Mathew Schumer, The Baltimore Sun on Jul 11, 2025

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BALTIMORE — The mass casualty event in Penn North that saw at least 25 people hospitalized on Thursday underscored the persistence of Baltimore’s overdose crisis, despite a recent drop citywide.

In 2025, overdoses in the city continue to decline after a significant drop last year, with most cases related to mounting fentanyl use, according to data compiled by the Maryland Department of Health.

The number of opioid-related deaths in Baltimore dropped by more than 25% in 2024 to 703, after four years of annual fatal opioid overdoses in the city hovering around 1,000, according to state health department data.

While the database only shows deaths through the end of May this year, the average monthly opioid overdose deaths in Baltimore decreased more than 30% from 2024.

But nationwide data still suggests that the city has one of the highest overdose fatality rates of any metropolitan area in the U.S.

The highest number of opioid overdoses in Baltimore this year occurred in a section of Northwest Baltimore, encompassing the Penn North neighborhood, where over two dozen people were hospitalized for treatment Thursday after apparent overdoses.

Baltimore first responders, health officials and volunteers responded to the chaotic scene, where the number of overdose victims appeared to escalate within a short period of time.

A Baltimore Sun analysis of the city’s 911 data shows that Baltimore saw a decrease of nearly 30% in 911 calls for overdoses this year, likewise concentrated in Northwest Baltimore.

In 2014, the year after experts say the fentanyl epidemic started, Maryland’s health department counted 72 deaths attributed to use of the drug in Baltimore City — accounting for a little less than a quarter of all opioid-related deaths in the city.

Fentanyl now makes up nearly 90% of opioid deaths in Baltimore.

The city’s department of health was also among the responders to the overdose emergency in Penn North on Wednesday, and worked to distribute Narcan, a medication used to neutralize the effects of opioid overdoses.

Overall, first responders’ use of Narcan has been trending down in recent years. State health department data suggests that monthly administration of Narcan by EMS in Baltimore is down nearly 40% from last year.

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