Overdose deaths continue to decline in Maine, according to data presented at the seventh annual Governor’s Opioid Response Summit in Augusta Thursday.
Gov. Janet Mills said reported fatal overdoses have fallen by more than 20 percent since the first of the year.
The administration enacted a plan to address the problem three years ago, when more than 700 Mainers died of drug overdoses.
Reported overdose deaths dropped by 19 percent from 2023 to 2024, according to state data released in February.
Between January and December 2024, Maine saw 490 confirmed and suspected fatal drug overdoses, compared with 2023’s 606 deaths. That is the largest year-over-year decline since 2023, when fatal overdoses fell 16 percent from the year prior, which was itself the largest decline since 2018.
The state attributes the recent decline in overdose deaths, in part, to expanded MaineCare, an increase in the number of Recovery Community Centers and Residences, and a major boost in the distribution of naloxone.
The Associated Press and BDN Reporter Leela Stockley contributed to this report.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
