The number of drug overdose deaths in Maine continued to rise in the first six months of this year.
Records from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner identified 189 drug deaths, up from 126 in the first six months of 2015.
“That increase is largely due to fentanyl, fentanyl analogues as well as heroin,” says Marcella Sorg, a forensic anthropologist at the University of Maine who analyzes death records for the attorney general’s office.
Sorg says she’s worried drug deaths this year could more than double, and Attorney General Janet Mills says she shares that fear.
Mills says the state has to do more to prosecute drug dealers, educate the public about drug dangers and provide treatment for people who are addicted.
