For the third year in a row, drug overdose deaths have dropped significantly in Maine.
According to preliminary data from the University of Maine, 390 Mainers died from drug overdoses last year. That's 100 people fewer than the year before — a 20% decline — and the lowest number of deaths since 2019.
In a written announcement, the state director of Opioid Response, Gordon Smith, attributes the decline to several factors, including "Maine’s widespread distribution of the overdose antidote naloxone and the work of our OPTIONS liaisons, combined with the declining prevalence of deadly fentanyl in the national drug supply."
The Mills administration is calling for continued support for evidence-based treatment and harm reduction services to further reduce the number of overdose deaths.
