Drug overdose deaths in Massachusetts plummet to lowest levels in a decade
'These data reinforce our commitment to eliminating racial and ethnic disparities and to ensuring equitable access to services for people with substance use disorders,' said Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, commissioner of public health for the city of Boston,
in a statement. 'While we are encouraged by these data, we still have work to do. One life lost to overdose is one life too many.'
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Public health officials and those who work with people with substance use disorders point to a constellation of forces behind the decline. These include expanded treatment and prevention efforts, the increased availability of
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Yet another significant factor could also be at play: changes in the illicit drug supply.
Fentanyl,
Still, addiction specialists cautioned that it's too early to tell if the state has turned the corner on the overdoses crisis, which has claimed more than 20,000 lives in Massachusetts in the past decade.
The illicit drug supply is changing constantly, with new and addictive substances being mixed into street drugs. Over the past two years, for instance, New England has seen a troubling trend in which dealers are selling drugs mixed with a variety of substances. A counterfeit Xanax pill can be laced with cocaine, fentanyl, and
Other treatment specialists are worried about whether the recent gains can be sustained if Congress prevails in its efforts to offset trillions in tax cuts with cuts to Medicaid and other federal health plans, including those addressing the drug crisis. The Republican budget bill that passed the House last week could
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Allyson Pinkhover, director of substance use services at Brockton Neighborhood Health Center, is concerned. More than 70 percent of the 824 patients that received treatment at the health center last year were enrolled in Medicaid, she said. Those left without insurance will be less likely to seek services and some treatment programs may shut down or limit services, she said.
'The [proposed] cuts to Medicaid are a direct threat to the years of progress that we've made‚" Pinkhover said. 'Every fiber of my being wants to be excited about this [reduction in overdoses], but there's a feeling in your gut that it's fragile, that it won't last.'
And despite the recent progress, drug fatalities remain historically high. Nationwide, 80,391 people died of drug overdoses in 2024, and overdoses remain
'This is a really meaningful reduction, but it's not the time to take our hands off the steering wheel,' said Dr. Miriam Harris, an addiction expert at Boston Medical Center and assistant professor of medicine at Boston University. 'Too many people are still dying and the unregulated drug supply is too dynamic to declare victory.'
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Even so, the Commonwealth is showing progress in reducing
While members of the Black and Hispanic community are still dying of overdoses at disproportionate rates, their share of overall overdoses has begun to decline. People who identify as Black or Hispanic represented 27.5 percent of opioid-related overdoses over the 12-month period ending last June, compared with 30.6 percent in the same period in 2023, according to
'The sharp drop in overdoses across all racial and ethnic groups is a promising sign that the Healey-Driscoll Administration's targeted investments in overdose prevention strategies are working and should continue,' said Deirdre Calvert, director of the state's Bureau of Substance Addiction Services, in a statement. 'In particular, our efforts to reduce unintentional exposure to fentanyl, often caused by a contaminated drug supply, have raised awareness of the risk of overdose and increased uptake of naloxone, drug testing, and other evidence-based harm reduction strategies.'
Chris Serres can be reached at
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