Deadly drug overdoses in the United States declined last year for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic, new preliminary federal data show.

The big picture: It's a rare glimmer of positive news amid a drug epidemic that's gripped the nation for over two decades and still continues to kill over 100,000 people each year.

By the numbers: Drug overdose deaths fell 3% from 111,029 in 2022 to 107,543 last year, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It was yet another fraught moment in a tumultuous relationship, and it didn’t end well.

Senior Biden administration officials were heading to Mexico City this month for pre-arranged talks about the fentanyl crisis as the news unfolded that drug cartel gunmen had kidnapped four Americans in Mexico, two of whom were shot dead.

But after Mexican officials quickly found and retrieved the surviving Americans — with U.S. help — the Biden officials were hopeful they could still emerge from the fentanyl meeting with something good to announce.

The Mexican government just seized what it claims is the biggest fentanyl pills manufacturing lab in history on the outskirts of Culiacán, Sinaloa. The laboratory, found on Feb.14, was most likely operated by the Sinaloa Cartel.

The drugs seized were enough to make more than 130 million doses of fentanyl. Some 600,300 pressed fentanyl pills were also discovered, according to the authorities. Around 500kg of precursors to produce heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine, along with a pill pressing machine, were found. 

MDMA earned positive results for treating people living with post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a new government study that confirmed other findings.

The new study for the MDMA clinical trial program was completed in November and sponsored by a group called the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. The trial is part of an ongoing effort to obtain federal approval for use of MDMA in therapy as the number of people suffering from PTSD, mental illness, and opioid addiction continues to climb.

Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez of the Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol announced on Friday that Border Patrol agents were able to seize the "largest" amount of liquid fentanyl in United States history.

"Fentanyl Bust!!! Extremely proud of our #USBP agents & @NuecesCoSo [Nueces County Sheriff's Office] authorities who worked together, interdicted, & seized largest amount of liquid #fentanyl in the history of the #USA from a traffic stop in Robstown, Texas," Chavez tweeted.

After agents and police have made a growing number of busts across the country, they’re warning about the dangers of candy-colored rainbow fentanyl.

The DEA says fentanyl is coming into the U.S. through the southern border. That’s one reason Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has given for using shipping containers to create a border barrier.

But the problem goes far beyond border states.

In Phoenix, police made a bust containing speckled, multi-colored fentanyl pills. They said it’s the first time they’ve seen tablets that look like that.

Meg and Scott knew something was going on with their son Kyle when, during the pandemic, he began refusing to get out of bed to attend class online.

Up until then, Kyle had been like a dream son: tall, good-looking, strong, athletic, with a great sense of humor. He was such a good baseball player that talent scouts were checking him out, and had a decent chance of someday playing in the Major League.

“He had the world by the balls,” his dad said. (At the family’s request, The Post has used pseudonyms.)

President Joe Biden's weak border policies are causing an influx of deadly drugs to be brought over into the U.S., causing overdose after overdose. 

Firefighters in Phoenix, Arizona, are reporting a record-breaking number of overdoses caused by fentanyl, leading to a shortage of Narcan. 

In 2021, there were roughly 2,000 fentanyl-related deaths in Arizona. Meanwhile, there have already been at least 7,000 deaths from the fatal drug in 2022. 

Earlier this month, old-fashioned Xeroxed copies of a newspaper article appeared across the Mid-Market neighborhood in Downtown San Francisco. The article, from the San Francisco Chronicle, featured the headline: “S.F. D.A. Brooke Jenkins says she’ll consider murder charges for fentanyl dealers.” The article was taped to walls on neighborhood corners regularly frequented by drug dealers. At least one of those Xerox copies had the headline translated into Spanish — all the better for the dealers in question, most of whom are Honduran nationals, to get the message.

President Biden on Thursday said that he'll ask for a review of whether marijuana should remain classified as a Schedule 1 substance under federal law.

Why it matters: This could be momentous for the upstart U.S. cannabis industry, which has been slowed at every turn by federal prohibitions.

What to know: Most cannabis companies are unable to use federally chartered banks, largely owing to the Schedule 1 designation, and instead are relegated to using state-chartered banks and credit unions.