Attorney General Releases Overdose Death Numbers for First Half of 2018
The regular reports on overdose deaths in the state is prepared by Marcella Sorg, PhD., of the University of Maine's Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center.
As has been the case in recent years, most of the 180 overdose deaths were caused by the synthetic opioid fentanyl. The 180 deaths is actually a slight decrease from the first half of 2017 when 185 drug-related deaths were reported. By the end of 2017, a total of 418 overdose deaths had occurred, representing a significant increase from the 376 deaths in 2016. The increase from 2016 to 2017 was higher than all but five other states.
Other facts of interest in the report:
The average age of the decedents was 42, fairly consistent with previous years.
Seventy-one percent of victims were male, an increase from previous years.
Eight percent of the deaths were attributed to suicide.
Next Article >
[ return to top ]
|
In This Issue
