drug overdoses

Overdose deaths in the U.S. last year were down by 27% from the year before — the largest such decline ever recorded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Portland has seen a recent spike in drug overdoses with 43 since April 10, including two that were fatal according to the Portland Police Department.

A state harm reduction task force offered mixed views about whether Maine should authorize the opening of a safe-use site that allows people to use drugs in a supervised setting.

Fatal overdoses declined 16% last year in Maine. And according to preliminary data, overdose deaths dropped by nearly 15% during the first seven months of this year.

Maine's Director of Opioid Response, Gordon Smith, says 201 people died in the first four months of the year, compared to 215 during the same time period last year.

A legislative committee has given initial approval to allow harm reduction centers in Maine communities that choose to open them.

The recommendation comes from a special committee, formed by Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline nearly a year ago, which focused on how the city should respond to substance use disorder and its impacts on the community.

Northern Light Health argued that the drug companies and pharmacy chains drove up the hospitals' cost of doing business during Maine's opioid crisis.

Last year, Maine saw a record 716 drug overdose deaths.