The state of Maine set another record for drug overdose deaths in 2017.
The Maine Attorney General’s Office reported Thursday that 418 people died from overdoses in Maine in 2017, an 11 percent increase over the 376 overdose deaths in 2016.
Opioids are still driving a majority of drug-related deaths, with fentanyl, a powerful synthetic, overtaking heroin as the deadliest substance.
Unlike heroin, which is manufactured from poppy plants, fentanyl can be made in a laboratory. Dealers often mix fentanyl with heroin or sell fentanyl as heroin because the profit margin is higher.
“Fentanyl has invaded our state, killing 247 people last year alone,” Attorney General Janet Mills said in a statement. “When people ingest this powerful powder, they often believe it is heroin, and have been told it’s heroin,” Mills added. “But no one should take a chance with these substances. Even as dangerous as heroin is, fentanyl is hundreds times more likely to kill you. The equivalent of a few grains of fentanyl can take your life.”
Maine, like many other states, has been gripped by an opioid crisis for several years, made worse by a lack of resources and a lack of consensus on how best to combat the problem. Notably, under Republican Gov. Paul LePage, Maine has been slow to expand access to medication-assisted-treatment with medications such as suboxone, and to improve access to naloxone, a drug that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.
Last year, the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram published a 10-part series that examined the impact of the crisis on the state.
The latest overdose report, prepared for the AG’s office by Marcella Sorg, a forensic anthropologist at the University of Maine, shows that the problem has not abated.
One in 4 deaths last year occurred in Cumberland County and 57 were in Portland alone.
York County saw 82 deaths, or 20 percent of the statewide total, with 23 in Biddeford.
The average age of those who died from drug overdose was 42, which is close to the average age of the population of the state.
Rep. Patricia Hymanson, D-York, the Democratic chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, called the latest statistics “horrifying and sad.”
“We have many ways in front of us to help the state move forward,” she said. “The most important one to me is the hub-and-spoke treatment model. I’ll support that forever.”
Hymanson was referring to a bill sponsored by Rep. Karen Vachon, R-Scarborough, that would create a series of hubs around the state that exist to direct people seeking treatment into a program that best suits them. The state of Vermont has had success with a similar plan.
Vachon’s bill was introduced last year but carried over to the current legislative session because of concerns over how to fund it. Estimates suggest that it could cost the state at least $6 million annually.
Vachon said she’s hopeful her bill will pass and be funded this year, and that the numbers released Thursday provide all the more reason to do so.
“There is a lot of education that still needs to be done on this,” she said. “Addiction is still looked at as a moral failure and we need to change minds about that.”
Maine Democratic Party Chairman Phil Bartlett called the numbers “sad and tragic,” and placed blame on the LePage administration.
“Not only has the governor failed to act in any meaningful way to address the opioid crisis, but he’s exacerbated it by actively working to restrict access to lifesaving treatment and anti-overdose medication,” Bartlett said. “Abating this crisis needs to be one of the first priorities for Maine’s next governor.”
The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
The continued increase in overdose deaths in Maine comes at a time when several others states are reporting decreases.
Data released this month by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control showed that deaths had declined in 14 states, including Massachusetts and Rhode Island, during the 12-month period that ended July 2017.
Drug overdose deaths in Maine used to be exceedingly rare. In 1997, there were just 34, or less than the monthly average for 2017.
The first spike in drug deaths started in 2000, with 60 deaths. The next year, it was 90. The year after that, 165 people died. A majority of those deaths were linked to prescription opiates like OxyContin, which was increasingly being diverted and abused.
From 2002 through 2011, the number of overdose deaths was more or less steady – never eclipsing 179 or dropping below 153.
Since 2011, though, deaths have increased every year. In 2014, a then-record 208 people died. Just three years later, that number had doubled.
Eric Russell can be contacted at 791-6344 or at:
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