Not really something this dataset (which is just about # of deaths + drug that caused them) can tell you. I'd imagine you'd need some sort of formal study of t

Not really something this dataset (which is just about # of deaths + drug that caused them) can tell you. I'd imagine you'd need some sort of formal study of the data to try to assign why deaths are starting to decline/plateau and what share a certain thing is responsible for, there are other possible causes. ------- Opiate prescriptions are falling pretty significantly. Number of prescriptions is down 22% from 2012-17, and volume (mg of opiates dispensed) dropped 12% in 2017 alone. https://www.aafp.org/news/health-of-the-public/20180425opioidstudy.html https://www.aafp.org/news/health-of-the-public/20180425opioi... That could be contributing to a decline in the "pipeline" of new addicts. Less people starting on them and lower doses and shorter durations when they are prescribed. It would make sense for a decline spurred by that to not show up in opiate deaths for a few years, my impression is that most people spiral downward for a while before actually dying/ODing.