Portland saw a record number of overdoses in 2024, but deaths fell sharply compared to the previous year, police said.

The Portland Police Department reported 548 overdoses last year, surpassing the previous record of 527 set in 2023. May saw the highest number of overdoses in a single month, with 76 reported, department spokesperson Brad Nadeau said.

Despite the rise in overdoses, the department reported 21 deaths — a 55% drop from the 47 deaths reported in 2023. April, May and December each saw four deaths, the most of any months.

Harm reduction advocates said those figures were likely due to a combination of expanded access to overdose treatments and improvements to Maine’s Good Samaritan law. The law can protect drug users and those present at an overdose from being prosecuted based on evidence gathered while they are seeking medical attention or caring for someone experiencing an overdose.

PORTLAND OVERDOSES

Tom Doherty, executive director of Portland-based Milestone Recovery, said improved access to naloxone, an overdose-reversing medication commonly sold under the brand name Narcan that is now available at pharmacies across the state, likely played a role in lowering the number of deaths.

“The (Gov. Janet) Mills administration got Narcan out everywhere,” Doherty said. “So that has been a wonderful thing.”

Doherty added that improved awareness of the Good Samaritan law also could be behind both the increase in reported overdoses, with more people willing to call for help, and the decrease in deaths stemming from them.

“People are more likely now to call and get police involved and EMTs,” he said.

Courtney Gary-Allen, executive director of the Maine Recovery Advocacy Project, said she, too, has noticed an increase in peoples’ willingness to call 911 with the law in place. “They’re less afraid of being charged,” she said.

Portland’s overdose death figures follow the statewide trend, though the local decline is sharper. With 403 reported between January and October, statewide overdose deaths were down roughly 21% from 2023 to 2024, according to state data.

From July 2023 to July 2024, the United States saw a roughly 19% decrease in overdose deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That figure is likely an undercount, though, and the department predicts the final figure is closer to a 17% drop.

Portland police officers also used naloxone slightly fewer times in 2024, maintaining the previous year’s decline. Police administered the drug, which can reverse an overdose, 59 times in 2024, compared to 65 times in 2023 and 85 times in 2022.

The drug, usually administered as a nasal spray, has been long touted by recovery experts and advocates as a key reason for previous declines in overdose deaths. It binds to the brain’s opioid receptors to reverse the impacts of opioid drugs, usually within 2 to 3 minutes of being taken, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Since January 2024, law enforcement officers statewide have been required to carry the drug.

Gary-Allen said the decrease in deaths may also be connected to changes in the toxicity within the drug supply, but determining changes there would likely require a longer-term analysis. She noted that while naloxone is effective against opioids, other toxic substances might require new treatment solutions.

“Drug supplies will always change,” Gary-Allen said. “When you take away one substance, you don’t just solve a problem. New substances come onto the market.”

And while the decreases in deaths at both the city and state levels are worth celebrating, Gary-Allen cautioned that there is still much room for improvement.

“We can’t just waive a white flag and be like ‘Oh look, we solved it. The numbers are going down,'” Gary-Allen said. “Every single overdose in the state of Maine is one of our community members.”