Media Report on Sorg’s Analysis of Maine Drug Deaths

The Associated Press, Portland Press Herald, Bangor Daily News, The Ellsworth American, WVII (Channel 7), Sun Journal and the Maine Public Broadcasting Network reported on an analysis released by the Maine attorney general’s office and conducted by Marcella Sorg, a research professor of the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine. The study found Maine residents who died of drug overdoses in 2014 hit a record number of 208 — an increase of 18 percent over the previous year, according to reports. “What is remarkable about the numbers in 2014 is a new increase in heroin and fentanyl deaths driving the number of total deaths to an unprecedented level for Maine,” Sorg said, citing statistics that found heroin deaths increased from 34 in 2013 to 57 in 2014, and fentanyl-related deaths increased from nine in 2013 to 43 in 2014. WABI (Channel 5), Fosters.com and The Houston Chronicle carried the AP report.