Sorg cited in Press Herald report on reducing opioid production
Marcella Sorg, an anthropologist and research professor with the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine, was mentioned in the Portland Press Herald article, “DEA will cut amount of opioids produced in U.S. by at least 25 percent.” The Drug Enforcement Administration recently announced it will significantly reduce the amount of prescription painkillers that can be manufactured in the United States, lowering aggregate production quotas for nearly all Schedule II prescription opioids by 25 percent or more beginning in 2017, according to the article. In 2015, the state attorney general’s office said a record 272 people died from drug overdoses in Maine, compared to 208 overdose deaths in 2014, the article states. This year’s deaths are on track to reach a new record of 378, based on an analysis by Sorg, a consultant hired by the AG’s office. Sorg said the increase in deaths is being driven by fentanyl, which is mixed with heroin, the Press Herald reported.