On October 2, 2026, White House drug policy director Sara Carter announced steep declines in overdose deaths, saying fentanyl deaths are down 55 percent and heroin deaths 89 percent from their peaks, and overall poisoning deaths are down more than 40 percent since 2023. She credits a whole-of-government strategy targeting cartels and the border, and notes emergency scheduling of kratom-related synthetics began August 26. Coverage has carried the figures without contesting them and now pairs the decline with the claim that youth drug use is the lowest since 1992. What remains open is how much of the drop the strategy accounts for.