MORNING HEADLINES  |  The number of overdose deaths in the Palmetto State is in decline for years, but new illicit substances are on the rise, posing new threats, according to state officials.

In South Carolina, the number of overdose deaths decreased nearly 30% from April 2024 to April 2025, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That was higher than the national average of about 24%. The trend began in 2023, breaking a decade-long rise in overdose deaths, according to the state Department of Public Health. 

State officials say the exact reason for fewer deaths is unclear, but they point to the availability and public awareness of naloxone as one big reason. Health clinics and schools across the state have begun offering the medication for free in recent years, and the Department of Public Health offers free opioid overdose kits at its local health clinics

In the Lowcountry, South Carolina’s $360 million portion of a national opioid lawsuit settled in 2023 is paving the way for hundreds of new initiatives and programs aimed at tackling addiction.

The Charleston Center, Charleston County’s premier substance use prevention, intervention, education and treatment facility, received $1.7 million in 2023 from the first round of the opioid settlement. Funds were used to add and strengthen more than a dozen government programs and partnerships, including the hiring of a new opioid initiative coordinator.

Between April 2023 and November 2024, the Charleston Center:

  • Distributed 2,902 prescription drug deactivation systems
  • Distributed 1,035 safe storage units to safely store prescription drugs
  • Reached 813 people through 38 training programs
  • Participated in 72 outreach events reaching more than 5,000 people
  • Distributed 5,998 Naloxone kits

The Charleston Center tracks the data through a public dashboard launched, in part, because of the opioid settlement funds.

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In today’s issue of the Charleston City Paper

CP OPINION: Don’t use a tragedy to erode freedom. “This is an editorial about free speech and how it’s a core American value to protect words used in public debate — even if we abhor those very words. In fact, we need to fight harder to protect words we detest if we say we truly are for free speech. Censoring words — even words we hate — leads us away from freedom and towards fascism.”

CP NEWS: Proposed dorm on cemetery site sparks spirited community debate. The College of Charleston bought land last year near its downtown campus to build a dormitory knowing a centuries-old burial ground for poor and enslaved people surrounds the site, a college official said.

CP NEWS: Demolition proposal of property on Meeting Street deferred. A proposal to demolish a building housing three Meeting Street businesses was met this month with such vehement community disapproval that the architect deferred the application before a city board considered it.

CP FOOD: Lowcountry wine experts share approachable wine, snack combos. You don’t need to dine on foie gras or caviar to enjoy a pairing of fine wine with food. Some of the best combos, in fact, can be found in the corner store.

CP FOCUS: Rich lands at Charleston’s Gibbes as new director. Alex Rich is in high gear. New business cards are freshly inked with the title “President and CEO, Gibbes Museum of Art” below his name, H. Alexander Rich.

CP MUSIC: Legendary McMurtry returns to Charleston to play Pour House. Texas singer/songwriter James McMurtry’s new album, The Black Dog and The Wandering Boy, opens with a menacing, corrosive tune called “Laredo (Small Dark Something).” It’s a true stomper, a natural fit for opening an album.

In recent headlines

Charleston’s battle against ‘Big Oil’ sputters out behind closed doors after yearslong lawsuit. A yearslong legal saga that saw the city of Charleston try to hold major oil companies to account for their alleged role in the city’s climate change-induced flooding woes quietly came to a close earlier this month.

Volunteers to remove trash from state beaches, rivers in 36th annual cleanup. Volunteers across South Carolina on Saturday will come together to pick up trash left on beaches, marshes and other waterways.

Charleston County School District launches High-Intensity Tutoring program. The Charleston County School District is hoping to improve student test scores district-wide with a new High-Intensity Tutoring program.

2 arrested in 2021 North Charleston mass shooting sentenced with probation. Two out of the four men accused in a mass shooting in 2021 that killed a 14-year-old girl and injured 14 others have entered guilty pleas in a Thursday court hearing.

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