Opioid-related deaths in Massachusetts have dropped by about 10 percent in the first nine months of 2017 in comparison to the same time frame in 2016.
In a third quarter report, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health found that estimated and confirmed deaths in the first nine months of 2016 totaled 1,637, but over the same time period in 2017 fell to 1,470, according to a press release from the Baker-Polito administration. Additionally, the department found the percentage of opioid-related overdoses resulting in death has declined over the past several years.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said while the report showed some trend lines moving in the right direction, there are still too many people dying of overdoses across the state.
“Our administration will continue efforts to combat this public health epidemic that is devastating families in every corner of the Commonwealth, and looks forward to introducing new proposals in the near future,” Baker said in the release.
Matthew Hoffman, the executive director of Boston Alcohol and Substance Abuse Programs, Inc., said he thinks the drop in death rates from opioid overdose is a result of an increased use of the overdose reversal drug naloxone, more commonly known as Narcan.
“The more available [Narcan] is, the less fatal overdoses there’s going to be,” Hoffman said. “Policemen are carrying it, firemen are carrying it — even private citizens are being encouraged to carry it around.”
Leo Beletsky, a professor of law and health sciences at Northeastern University, wrote in an email the department report confirms the opioid crisis is devastating the Commonwealth. Still, if confirmed by final figures, he said, the decline is indeed positive.
Beletsky wrote the monthly totals used in the report do not represent reliable trends.
“We would need to keep an eye on how the trends evolve to be able to make any determinations about the crisis’ trajectory,” he wrote.
The department’s report also found that the rate at which fentanyl was present in opioid-related deaths continues to rise annually, reaching 81 percent this year.
Hoffman said the presence of fentanyl will have a major effect on whether death rates from opioid overdose will continue to decrease overall.
“If the amount of fentanyl and carfentanyl continues to increase, then the number of overdoses may well go up,” he said. “That’s dependent unfortunately on the whims of the drug dealers and the cartels.”
Several Boston residents expressed their concern about the impacts of the opioid epidemic on the city and the state.
Gustavo Pena, 55, of the South End, said the opioid crisis stems largely from the misuse of prescription drugs.
“People get addicted to it, then find that getting a hit on the street [is] much cheaper than going to the CVS,” he said. “The problem starts at the pharmaceuticals and our health policies — not at the street level where most of us see it.”
Michelle Chester, 22, of Allston, said a decrease in deaths from opioid-related overdoses is a positive thing that should be reflected in public policy.
“I would say continue what we’re doing, or see what exactly the changes that we’ve been [making] are, and continue to put funding into that rather than just ignoring the crisis,” Chester said.
Bob Devaney, 69, of Charlestown, said he agreed with the policies current leaders in Boston and the state are pursuing in regards to the opioid epidemic.
“What Mayor Walsh is saying, and … what the government is doing, trying to get things going, getting people involved at the Pine Street Inn and things like that, is crucial,” he said.
Shaun was the Editor-in-Chief for the Spring 2019 semester. Before that, he was the Multimedia Editor, the Layout Editor and a News writer. He also sat on the Board of Directors. Follow him on Twitter @shaun_robs.
