"The number of opioid-related deaths in Massachusetts has increased each year since 2010, but new figures from the first half of this year offer some signs of motion in the opposite direction.
Fifty-three fewer people died of opioid overdoses in the first six months of 2017 than over the same time period last year, according to state data released Tuesday.
The latest quarterly report on opioid-related deaths in Massachusetts tracked 978 confirmed and estimated opioid deaths from January through June, a 5 percent decrease from the 1,031 in the first half of 2016.
A year ago, the Department of Public Health reported that the opioid death rate was higher for the first six months of 2016 than in the first half of the previous year."
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http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20170822/mass-opioid-overdose-deaths-trending-downward-in-2017
Deaths made be trending down but the problem itself is not resolved yet. The work of the SAFE Coalition (and others) is still quite important. The decline in deaths may be due to the increased availability and awareness of NARCAN which was coordinated by the SAFE Coalition in Franklin.
For more about the SAFE Coalition and what they are doing to help the substance abuse problem we have visit their webpage http://safecoalitionma.com/
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| http://safecoalitionma.com/ |
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