Sorg’s Research Shows Slight Decrease in Drug Deaths
The Maine Office of Attorney General has released the most recent measure of drug deaths in Maine in a report compiled by Professor Marcella Sorg of the Policy Center, revealing a slight decline since the previous year. The 2018 third-quarter drug death report found that from January to September, the total number of drug-related deaths was 282, down about 5 percent from the 297 deaths in the same period of 2017. The report shows that at least 89 percent of the drug-related deaths in the third quarter of 2018 were from accidental overdoses. Fentanyl remains the leading cause of drug deaths in Maine. The report also indicated that there was a rise in the number of deaths related to cocaine and methamphetamine, with cocaine increasingly being mixed with fentanyl and heroin.
Professor Sorg and her research team at the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center have been monitoring drug deaths in Maine since 2001 in collaboration with the Maine Office of Attorney General and the Office of Chief Medical Examiner.
Link to the Full 2018 Third Quarter Report
Articles regarding the Report: