Baker calls opioid addiction "an implacable enemy"

Deaths due to an opioid overdose in Massachusetts are starting to stabilize after a slight decline, while deadly fentanyl is infiltrating the supply of illicit drugs, according to data released Friday.

The state's Department of Public Health reported 1,518 overdose deaths related to opioid-confirmed and estimated in the first nine months of 2018, up from 1,538 in that period last year.

This is only a 1.3% decrease, which can be erased as more deaths are recorded.

Overdose mortality has decreased by 5% between 2016 and 2017, but it now seems unlikely that a similar decline will be recorded for 2018.

"It's a relentless enemy," Governor Charlie Baker said Friday at a forum on the opioid crisis organized by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. "I think one of the things that sometimes happens in public life is that we work on something, then we say we fix it, and then we move on. It is a project on which we will have to stay a long time. "

Although the state has increased access to drug treatment and naloxone, an overdose drug, the prevalence of potent synthetic fentanyl has created significant barriers to these efforts.

Studies of the presence of drugs in the body of those who have fatal overdoses show that in the second quarter of this year, 90% had taken synthetic fentanyl for the black market, the highest percentage ever recorded. Heroin was present at 37% and prescription analgesics at 17%.

Fentanyl is linked not only to heroin, but also to cocaine and other drugs, Baker said at the forum.

"It's really cheap to make, very easy to move and it's a very important problem," he said. "Fentanyl was really not part of this conversation when we took office four years ago and it exploded to completely change the dynamic for virtually everyone."

Baker, a Republican, said state officials were working with local and federal authorities to stem the influx of fentanyl.

In the spring, lawmakers enacted, and Baker signed, a measure facilitating the prosecution of fentanyl traffickers. Last month, Baker tabled a $ 5 million bill to support a coordinated regional approach to fentanyl control by the Massachusetts Municipal Police Service.

Although overdose deaths overall decreased in 2017, the death rate increased for one group – increasing by 44% among non-Hispanic black men. Dr. Monica Bharel, Commissioner for Public Health, said the state is running public awareness campaigns targeting black communities.

The latest quarterly report of the state on opioid-related deaths also noted:

PAinkiller orders in the third quarter of 2018 decreased by 35% from the first quarter of 2015.

Maged 25 to 34 were the largest group treated by emergency medical services for opioid-related overdoses during the second
quarter of 2018.

During his 20-minute interview on Friday, Baker highlighted the deep nature of the crisis, noting that it undoubtedly affected business leaders attending the event.

"To all the employers here present, if you think that there are no people in your company dealing with this problem, if you have more than 20 people at your service, you are wrong", did he declare. "Do not think about it in terms of people who deal directly with their own addiction. Because it concerns husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, neighbors and colleagues. "

Felice J. Freyer can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @felicejfreyer. Contact Matt Stout at [email protected]. Follow on twitter @mattpstout