PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Maine set a record for drug deaths in 2016 with an average of more than a death a day, but it could’ve been much worse without a drug administered to reverse overdoses, a newspaper reported.
Rescue workers used naloxone, known by its brand name Narcan, 2,380 times in 2016. That’s up from 1,565 the year before. Use of the drug saved lives and prevented the total of 378 overdose deaths from being even higher, the Maine Sunday Telegram/Portland Press Herald reported .
The newspaper launched a 10-part series Sunday that will examine the epidemic of heroin, fentanyl and other opioids by looking at the lives of victims and their families. Over the course of a year, families of more than 60 of those who succumbed to drugs shared their stories with the newspaper. The newspaper also interviewed recovering addicts and policymakers.
The newspaper found that the state was largely unprepared for the crisis, especially for the increased demand for treatment, and is now trying to catch up.
About 15,500 people received opioid addiction treatment in Maine in 2015 but the total number of Mainers addicted to opioids is unknown. The Office of the Surgeon General estimates that, nationally, only 10 percent of people living with addiction get treatment.
Nationwide, 52,404 lives were lost, including 33,091 from opioids alone, for an increase of 11 percent based on data from 2015. That’s more than the number of car crashes or gun deaths.
The newspaper found that most victims were regular people who got hooked on narcotics prescribed to treat pain. Their stories will be told in coming weeks, and the stories aren’t always pretty. Heidi-Sue Stuart, of Lisbon, says she still has a rug in her home stained by blood coughed up by her 28-year-old son as he overdosed on fentanyl in 2015 and died in her arms. She says she can’t afford to have it replaced.
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Information from: Portland Press Herald, https://www.pressherald.com
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