The synthetic drug can be 50 to 100 times more potent than heroin or prescription opioids.
opioid epidemic
Posted inNation & World
States look for solutions as U.S. fentanyl deaths keep rising
With fentanyl driving fatal overdoses to record levels in the U.S., state governments are scrambling for solutions.
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Posted inNation & World
‘Scum of the earth’: Opioid victims face owners of Purdue Pharma
Addiction and overdose survivors and those who have lost loved ones have unleashed their emotions on members of the family they blame for fueling the opioid epidemic.
Posted inKennebec Journal, Maine
Mainers gather for Black Balloon Day, marking 636 overdose deaths in 2021
Members of the Maine recovery community advocate for an amendment to the state Good Samaritan Law that would protect anyone at the scene of an overdose from punishment for nonviolent crimes.
Posted inMaine, News
Portrayed as villain in TV series about opioid crisis, ex-U.S. attorney for Maine says he didn’t sell out
Jay McCloskey, who has a brief but unflattering portrayal in the new miniseries ‘Dopesick,’ defends his work for the OxyContin producer Purdue Pharma in the early 2000s.
Posted inNation & World, News
Congressional report calls for new strategy for opioids and a Cabinet-level leader
Recent news that overdose deaths surpassed 100,000 in one year has caught the public’s attention.
Posted inBusiness, Health, Maine, News
Maine to receive $130 million over 18 years in national opioid lawsuit settlement
The money will be used to fight the ongoing epidemic that resulted in a record number of overdose deaths last year.
Posted inMaine Voices, Op-Eds, Opinion
Maine Voices: We can’t leave overdose survival to chance – expand Maine’s Good Samaritan law
L.D. 1862 will ensure that no one has to weigh getting emergency medical help against arrest or prosecution for nonviolent crimes.
Posted inHealth, Maine, News
Maine shattered its annual record for overdose deaths in 2021
The 636 deaths, a 23% increase over 2020, are largely the result of fentanyl being added to other drugs. Increased isolation and other pandemic challenges also were factors.
Posted inHealth, Maine, News
Coronavirus pandemic overshadows another Maine crisis: Drug overdose deaths
Maine is on pace to lose more than 600 residents to overdose this year, which would shatter the record set just last year.