Maine recorded its worst year for drug overdose in 2020, with 502 deaths, and preliminary numbers for January 2021 indicate that numbers are still rising.
The data released by the Maine Attorney General on Thursday contributes to a sustained and gloomy trend that worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. The new information on overdose deaths last year comes as the Attorney General’s Office began publishing overdose statistics every month instead of quarterly, a move welcomed by people working in the recovery community, who say that increased reporting lives will help.
The 502 fatal overdoses in 2020 surpass the previous peak of 417 deaths in 2017, which at the time was considered the peak of the opioid crisis. The number dropped to 354 in 2018 before climbing again a year later.
Maine has averaged 42 drug overdose deaths per month in 2020, and according to initial reports, 58 deaths have been confirmed or suspected to be a drug overdose overdose in January, the worst month for fatal overdoses in a year and many higher than January 2020.
“The January numbers are a strong and tragic reminder of how pervasive and deadly the opioid epidemic is,” Attorney General Aaron Frey said in a written statement Thursday. ‘We need to work urgently to connect Mainers struggling with substance abuse disorder with the resources they need to protect them and help them recover, and we need to come together as a community to bring the COVID-19 pandemic under control to get barriers to treatment and support removed. ”
Experts said the coronavirus pandemic probably exacerbated the opioid crisis. A January report from the AG’s office notes that the increase in Maine reflects national trends and “is probably due in part at least to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated mitigation measures: isolation, avoidance of or problems with access to medical services, and changes in the illegal supply of drugs. “
In December, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 81,000 drug deaths from June 2019 to May 2020, the largest number ever recorded in the country over a 12-month period.
The deaths in Maine during January 2021 are still preliminary, with 29 confirmed deaths from drug overdoses and 29 suspected. The previous high last year was 53 in June. There were 43 deaths in January 2020.
Gordon Smith, director of opioid response in Maine, said the preliminary and final reports on the numbers of monthly deaths are not expected to change much, and perhaps one or two cases could be reclassified as a result of an overdose.
A detailed breakdown of the 502 deaths during 2020 was not disclosed, while the state released some details in its first monthly death report in January.
The most common cause of death in January is non-pharmaceutical fentanyl, according to the report compiled by dr. Marcella Care of the University of Maine’s Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center. Fifty-two percent of deaths in January were aged 40-59 years and 62 percent of deaths were among men.
Among the mothers, fathers, sons and daughters who died in January was Crystal Waugh, a 39-year-old former program director of Journey House Recovery in Sanford. She died on January 30 from an apparent overdose.
Crystal Rose Waugh, on a family photo
Waugh’s mother, Joanne Goodreau of Sanford, expressed shock on Thursday after learning that there had been a fatal drug overdose in Maine in January 58.
“Oh, goodness … I know two of them,” Goodreau said. “It’s sad. I feel sad for the people who lost their lives to addiction and sad for the families who have to survive.”
Garrett Dee
Another loss of life was Garrett Dee, a 28-year-old commercial fisherman from Jay who died on January 18 from an apparent overdose – a few days after moving into a sober house in Portland.
Dee’s sister, Rilynn Snow of Westbrook, said on Thursday that the increase in overdose deaths did not surprise her.
“It’s insane to me that so many people … 58 people who did not have a solution,” Snow said. ‘Fifty-eight people who were so lost and broken and felt that there was no other way to get relief than to stun themselves. It’s sad for me to think, because I know there is another way to live. It’s hard in the beginning and it feels like it is not worth it, but it is. ”
Courtney Allen, policy director of the Maine Recovery Advocacy Project, sees daily data on overdose in Maine through her work, but said the total numbers are likely to be a surprise to everyday Mainers who do not know the extent of the problem. She hopes the more timely data released by the state will help people understand that this is a public health crisis that should respond similarly to the attempt to counter COVID-19.
“The recovery community lost a lot of people last year. “We see this as a signal from the Mills government that we will double in 2021 and that we will not lose so many people again,” Allen said. “It is important for the recovery community to see the Mills government take overdose deaths as seriously as the COVID-19 deaths.”
The more detailed monthly reports that will be released in the future achieve a goal of the state’s strategic plan for opioid response, which calls for more timely and transparent data to identify trends and allocate resources more quickly in response to drug overdoses, said Janet Mills’ office. Elected public health officials and advocates say the release of information on a monthly basis rather than quarterly will allow for a better response to the overdose and provide more opportunities to save lives.
Mills, as part of its budget proposal, has included $ 2 million to promote the OPTIONS Initiative, which sends mobile response teams in every province in Maine to communities with high-dose drugs. A public campaign and a new website launched in January to raise awareness of the OPTIONS program, which provides information on the dangers associated with substance use, the signs of a suspected overdose, and ‘ a new online tool to help individuals with treatment options fit into their communities.
Mills said the timing of the new reports was important “given the alarming increase in deaths during an overdose.”
“This new, more comprehensive data will be a powerful tool that we and others can use to help Maine people,” she said in a statement. “With these deeper insights, the state and Maine’s drug use counselors, hospitals, first responders and law enforcers can respond better and better to the plague of opioid addiction in our communities.”
The faster release of data will also help inform the public and make institutions that help people suffering from drug use disorders respond more quickly to trends, Smith said.
“By increasing our understanding of what happens to overdoses in Maine and sharing this data broadly with responses and the public at the forefront, we can help keep individuals struggling with drug abuse alive,” Smith said. “The opioid crisis in Maine is changing frequently and now we will have access to more complete and timely data to shift our response to meet the changes.”
Jared Mills, Chief Jared Mills, said the monthly overdose information will provide Augusta Police Department OPTIONS with important demographic information that can be used to provide potential life-saving interventions for residents.
“The Maine recovery community is strong, but our collective hearts break with every mortality rate that could possibly have been prevented,” Ronald Springel, program manager of the Maine Association of Recovery Residences, said in a statement. “By sharing this important data monthly on overdoses that are not fatal and fatal, we are giving the opportunity to help those who have survived but are at high risk for a subsequent overdose.”
More information on the support and resources of drug use disorders is available by calling 211, by email [email protected], visit the Maine 211 Web site, visit the Know Your Options resource page, or visit the DHHS Office of Behavioral Health resource page.
Staff Writer Melanie Creamer contributed to this story.
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