Maryland overdose deaths continue steep climb (Washington Post)
Tuesday Jan 3rd, 2017
Drug-overdose deaths surged to new levels in Maryland during the first nine months of 2016, far surpassing the total for all of the previous year as fatalities related to heroin and fentanyl use increased sharply.
The state health department reported Thursday that the number of overdose deaths for January through September climbed to 1,468, a 62 percent jump compared with the same period in 2015, and the sixth straight year that the figure has risen.
The total for the first three quarters of 2016 exceeded the overall sum for the previous year by nearly 17 percent.
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Baltimore Health Commissioner Leana Wen said in a statement Thursday that long-term treatment tends to be underfunded.
“Addiction is a disease . . . and must be addressed as any other chronic disease,” she said. “We must both save a life today with acute treatments, like the opioid overdose reversal medication naloxone, while also ensuring access to evidence-based treatment.”
The rise in fatal overdoses this year has extended beyond opioids. Fatal overdoses related to cocaine not mixed with other drugs jumped 76 percent to 69, while alcohol-only deaths increased more than 36 percent to 30. The figures for both years represent data from January through September.