Maine saw a 19 percent drop in overdose deaths last year

By Christopher Burns, Bangor Daily News Staff

Maine saw a 19 percent drop in overdose deaths in 2024.

That’s according to preliminary figures released this week in the December monthly overdose report compiled by researchers from the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine in Orono.

Between January and December 2024, Maine saw 490 confirmed and suspected fatal drug overdoses, compared with 2023’s 606 deaths. That is the largest year-over-year decline since 2023, when fatal overdoses fell 16 percent from the year prior, which was itself the largest decline since 2018.

2024 also marked the first time since 2011 when Maine saw consecutive years of falling fatal overdoses.

The drop in fatalities is mirrored by a decline in overall overdoses, which fell 13 percent to 8,045 in 2024.

The bulk of fatal and nonfatal overdoses occurred in Cumberland (2,400) and Penobscot (1,201) counties, while Piscataquis (106) and Sagadahoc (159) saw the fewest.

Men continue to make up the bulk of overdose victims at 66 percent, while 74 percent of fatal overdoses were in Mainers ages 35-64. Last year, there were four drug deaths in Mainers under age 18.

Researchers found that fentanyl continues to show up in most overdose deaths, with the drug appearing in about 72 percent of confirmed cases. Other prominent drugs cited as a cause of death include methamphetamine (37 percent), cocaine (44 percent) and pharmaceutical opioids (18 percent). Fentanyl commonly appeared in fatal combinations with cocaine (34 percent) and meth (28 percent).

Both cocaine and meth contributed to a greater portion of overdose deaths in 2024, while fentanyl declined slightly.