ALBANY, N.Y. — A report by the New York State Inter-Agency Task Force on Overdose Prevention says the state needs to better connect drug users to treatment resources while reducing stigma against addiction.

In 2022, 17 people died of an overdose every day. That’s more than 6,300 deaths.

Overdoses have an economic impact, as well as a human one. The report estimates that overdoses have resulted in a loss of productivity worth more than $4.5 billion.

The report’s recommendations include increasing access to drug testing and naloxone, encouraging screening for people at risk of addiction, and stopping the spread of substances like fentanyl and xylazine in the street drug market that make drugs deadlier.

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