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Opioid Overdoses Kill More Than 1,000 in Massachusetts in 2014

04/29/2015

April 29—More than 1,000 people were estimated to have died of unintentional opioid-related overdoses in Massachusetts last year, a 33 percent increase over 2012, according to data released Tuesday by the state's Department of Public Health.

Of those, 146 deaths were reported in Essex County for 2014, something Haverhill School Committee President Scott Wood found concerning.

"Some people still have the perception that an opioid or heroin addict is someone who's strung out in a back alley and that's simply not the truth," Wood said. "It affects families, people with jobs, people with good upbringings, a good education."

Health officials reported 600 confirmed, unintentional opioid-related deaths in 2014, based on information available as of April 6. That number jumped to 1,008 when accounting for an estimated 408 cases where the cause of death has not yet been certified by the state's Office of the Medical Examiner.

The figures were released as Gov. Charlie Baker joined U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell and state Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders in Boston for a discussion of the heroin and painkiller abuse crisis.

Last year's numbers show a 3.3 percent increase over 2013 deaths, health officials said. The state saw 888 confirmed unintentional opioid-related deaths in 2013, with an additional 79 estimated cases, bringing that total to 967. There were 668 confirmed unintentional opioid-related deaths in 2012.

"The rate of unintentional opioid-related overdose deaths, which includes deaths related to heroin, reached levels in 2013 previously unseen in Massachusetts," according to the Department of Public Health (DPH) data briefing.

In Essex County, unintentional opioid overdose deaths rose to 146 last year from 120 in 2013, and up from 85 in 2012. Essex County ranked second behind Middlesex County for the number of deaths in 2014, and had the fourth highest total deaths between 2000 and 2014 out of 14 counties statewide, according to the data.

Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said in a statement Tuesday that more must be done in terms of education and prevention to combat the opioid problem.

"We have been aware that the number of fatal overdoses has increased dramatically over the last few years and this is deeply concerning to us," he said. "Local law enforcement officials are working hard to identify major drug traffickers and dealers in an effort to get this poison off of our streets."

Blodgett said he is a strong proponent of drug diversion and drug courts, which allow low-level drug offenders the opportunity to seek treatment instead of being prosecuted, while also supporting "stiff mandatory sentences" for drug traffickers and dealers.

He called for more treatment options for "people trapped in the vicious cycle of addiction."

In Methuen, for instance, nine unintentional opioid-related deaths were reported between January and September of last year, according to DPH data.

Methuen Police Chief Joseph Solomon said his department was seeing a slight uptick in overdoses this month after a decline in February and March.

"But it's still way below the 3, 4, 5 a week we were seeing in the beginning of the year," he said.

To help curb overdoses, Methuen police late last year began carrying nasal naloxone, commonly known by its brand name, Narcan, a drug that reverses the effects of opioid overdoses. From November 2014 to early March this year, Solomon said 75 doses of Narcan had been administered -- 35 by the police department and 40 by the fire department.

"Obviously any death is unacceptable, the numbers are still way too high and they need to come down," Solomon said.

In Haverhill, 17 unintentional opioid-related deaths were recorded between January and September of last year.

Wood said there is a "serious opiate problem," in Haverhill.

"I think the community as a whole, some of the elected officials have been too reactive to the problem and not proactive enough when it comes to addressing the problem," Wood said.

Haverhill schools are working to combat the opioid problem in numerous ways, including hiring a school drug counselor earlier this year, and bringing in a recovering addict to speak to middle school students district-wide earlier this month.

"It needs to be obviously a multi-prong approach between the schools, law enforcement, health care community, and state officials," Wood said.

Beyond education in schools, Solomon said it was important for residents to know the signs and symptoms of an overdose, which he described as someone who is experiencing "labored breathing," and typically has "purple lips and purple fingernail beds."

Solomon urged residents to call 911 when a person begins to have labored breathing, because "when they call later, it's too late."

He also encouraged residents who know of opioid users to get trained in administering Narcan through the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, and get a prescription that would allow them to carry the drug.

Wood said he believed efforts should go beyond the local level, including lobbying the state for help.

"People who want to get help can't get help because insurances won't cover it," he said. "They go to a detox facility and are released within 4 to 5 days and are back out in the the community. There's really no long-term plan on how to address these issues."