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There has been little reason for hope when it comes to overdose deaths in Maine. For years, the number of deaths has increased.
Last year, for the first time since 2018, fatal overdoses decreased.
Between January and December 2023, Maine saw 607 confirmed and suspected fatal drug overdoses, compared with 2022’s record 723 deaths, according to data compiled by researchers from the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine in Orono. That is the largest year-over-year decline since 2018, when fatal overdoses fell 15 percent from the year prior.
To be sure, 607 deaths from drug overdoses is still far too many, and there is much work to be done to end the state’s opioid crisis. But the decline could be a hopeful sign that the many interventions put in place are having positive consequences.
“Although overdoses in Maine lessened this past year, for the first time in five years, Maine people are still losing too many friends and family members to substance use disorder and highly lethal drugs like fentanyl,” Gordon Smith, the state’s director of opioid response, said in a statement earlier this month.
“I also believe the investments we’ve made in prevention, treatment, and recovery services have contributed to this decrease, and while this is welcome news that should bring a sense of relief, our cautious optimism shouldn’t become complacency,” he added. “We remain deeply committed to working hard on strategies to prevent people from using dangerous drugs, helping more individuals enter treatment, find recovery and harm reduction supports, and most important, stay alive.”
Many point to the increased availability of naloxone as an important element in the decline. Naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan, can reverse overdoses from drugs like heroin, morphine, oxycodone and fentanyl, a synthetic opioid.
“I strongly believe the state’s naloxone response is in large part a reason for that decline,” Whitney Parrish Perry, director of operations for Maine Access Points, recently told the Portland Press Herald. Access Points is a harm reduction group that distributes naloxone and operates a syringe exchange program at four locations in Maine.
“The Mills administration has honed in on community distribution of naloxone as a priority,” Parrish Perry said.
Gov. Janet Mills announced that her office will use more than $1 million in federal funds to increase the distribution of naloxone. Maine reversed more than 9,000 potentially fatal overdoses between July 2019 and December 2023 through the purchase and distribution of naloxone, according to the governor’s office.
The distribution of naloxone, however, has been uneven across the state, as is the availability of treatment for substance use disorder.
In Aroostook County, the Mi’kmaq Nation is stepping up to help fill a void.
It will soon have the state’s first naloxone vending machine north of Portland. The device, which will dispense the overdose reversing drug for free to anyone who needs it, will be officially unveiled on March 1.
Aroostook County had the sixth highest number of overdose deaths among Maine’s counties in both 2022 and 2023, according to University of Maine data. People in rural communities often have barriers to obtaining naloxone and other substance use treatment.
“I think this sets a new standard by which we can offer harm reduction to our whole community,” Mi’kmaq Health Director Katie Espling told Paul Brewer for a recent Bangor Daily News story. “We here at Mi’kmaq Nation want to provide a proactive, discrete and innovative way to make sure everyone living in Aroostook County has access to naloxone free of charge.”
There are many facets to the state’s opioid crisis, just as there are many ways to help alleviate it. Increased access to naloxone has been shown to be a lifesaver. Further expanding that access should remain a priority.
