Overdose drug deaths in Portland held steady in 2020 as numbers increased by a third across the state.
According to the Maine Drug Death Report for 2020, released last week, there were 56 overdose deaths in Portland in 2020, 80% of which involved opioids. There were 55 overdose deaths in the city in 2019, 57 in 2017 and about 44 in 2018.
Overall across the state, overdose deaths increased 33%, rising from 380 in 2019 to 504 last year, the most ever since reporting began in 1997. More than 90%, or 457 deaths, were ruled accidental and an increasing amount involved fentanyl.
The report was complied by Marcella H. Sorg of the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine.
Copy the Story LinkComments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
