With fentanyl driving fatal overdoses to record levels in the U.S., state governments are scrambling for solutions.
opioid epidemic
Posted inMaine
Legacy of Pain: How Maine’s opioid crisis devastated families and created a generation of lost children
The rising human cost of the opioid crisis has created a legacy of pain for more than a generation of Maine people.
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Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Oxford Hills
Fentanyl: Secret ingredient in non-opioid drugs a driving factor in Oxford County’s overdose crisis
Overdose deaths in Oxford county almost doubled last year from 2020.
Posted inHealth, Lewiston-Auburn
Lewiston forms panel focused on substance abuse
Officials plan to investigate what’s needed to create a ‘recovery-ready community’ that can help addicts recover
Posted inMaine
Mainers gather for Black Balloon Day, marking 636 overdose deaths in 2021
Members of the Maine recovery community advocate for an amendment to the state Good Samaritan Law that would protect anyone at the scene of an overdose from punishment for nonviolent crimes.
Posted inMaine, News
Portrayed as villain in TV series about opioid crisis, ex-U.S. attorney for Maine says he didn’t sell out
Jay McCloskey, who has a brief but unflattering portrayal in the new miniseries ‘Dopesick,’ defends his work for the OxyContin producer Purdue Pharma in the early 2000s.
Posted inBusiness, Health, Maine, News
Maine to receive $130 million over 18 years in national opioid lawsuit settlement
The money will be used to fight the ongoing epidemic that resulted in a record number of overdose deaths last year.
Posted inSouthern Forecaster, The Forecaster
Operation HOPE extends shutdown amid omicron surge
After ceasing operations Dec. 16, the plan to resume the program on Jan. 14 has been postponed.
Posted inHealth, Maine, News
Maine shattered its annual record for overdose deaths in 2021
The 636 deaths, a 23% increase over 2020, are largely the result of fentanyl being added to other drugs. Increased isolation and other pandemic challenges also were factors.
Posted inHealth, Maine, News
Portland police reporting a rash of drug overdoses since Christmas
The trend in Portland seems to be a reflection of what has been happening in Maine as overdose deaths in 2021 are on pace to shatter the record set in 2020.