While the Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced in February that opioid-related deaths dropped 8 percent from 2016 to 2017 – the first time a yearly decline has been reported since 2010 – the number of opioid overdose deaths in the state has soared more than 300 percent in the last eight years.
A national effort to address this crisis is ongoing, and President Donald Trump is expected to visit New Hampshire on Monday to discuss solutions.
At the state level, Gov. Charlie Baker’s CARE Act builds on 2016 legislation to combat the epidemic and would take concrete steps to improve access to treatment and establish a commission to review credentialing procedures for recovery coaches.