The number of people who died from drug overdoses in Maine declined by nearly 10% through the first five months of 2024 compared to the same period the year before, continuing a downward trend that began last year after years of steady increases.

Overdose deaths fueled primarily by the opioid crisis plummeted by 16% in 2023, the first year-over-year decrease since 2018.

The number of overdose deaths in Maine increased from 176 in 2013 to a high of 723 in 2022 before declining to 607 in 2023. From January through May this year, Maine recorded 231 fatal drug overdoses, 9.8% fewer than the 256 overdose deaths in same period last year.

From 2013-23, a total of 4,648 Maine people died from drug overdoses. The vast majority were caused by opioids, a group of drugs that includes heroin and prescription pain medications. Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic painkiller, has contributed to a large portion of the deaths.

While not declaring victory over the opioid crisis – deaths are still historically high – Maine leaders are heartened that the declines of last year appear to be continuing in 2024.

In addition to the declining number of deaths, nonfatal overdoses tracked by the state were down 11.8% from January-May 2024, compared to a 7.3% decline recorded during the same period in 2023.

“We’re certainly pleased to see the continuing trend, both nonfatal and fatal,” said Gordon Smith, Maine’s director of opioid response.

Smith said the increased availability of naloxone, the life-saving antidote to opioid overdoses, is one of the big reasons why fewer people are dying.

Naloxone overdose reversals tracked by the state increased from about 1,500 per year in 2020 to an estimated 2,500 per year now. The drug is administered as a nasal spray when someone has overdosed.

“Our strategy is to make naloxone available everywhere it needs to be,” Smith said. “We also see that more people are surviving their overdoses. The goal is to successfully revive as many people as possible to give people a chance to get into treatment.”

The Mills administration has expanded treatment for substance use disorder, made naloxone more accessible, and increased the number of detox beds in Maine from 20 in 2020 to 100 this year.

Dr. Noah Nesin, medical director of the Community Care Partnership of Maine and an opioid expert, said the data so far this year is “very encouraging.”

“The fact that nonfatal overdoses are down is very interesting,” Nesin said. “I don’t know why, but either people are using less or using more carefully.”

The annual report on the state’s prescription monitoring program also shows a continued decline in opioid prescribing. The state tracks prescription practices as part of its efforts to reduce diversion of painkillers such as Oxycontin, which fueled the start of the opioid crisis because the pills were so widely prescribed and readily available.

Maine has one of the strictest laws in the nation on opioid prescribing – approved in 2016 during the Paul LePage administration – and opioid prescribing declined by 55% from 2015 to 2023.

The number of Maine patients receiving high-dose opioid prescriptions has plummeted from 3,905 in 2018 to 1,869 in 2023.

Nesin said it’s possible that the decline in opioid prescribing is causing less usage, which may be contributing to the decline in overdoses.

“If we’re not overprescribing opioids in the first place, fewer people may get opioid use disorder,” Nesin said. “One would hope that is contributing to the reduction in overdoses.”