June 19th, 2019 by WCBC Radio

Efforts to curb opioid overdoses across Maryland seem to be working, based upon the 2019 first quarter figures released by the Maryland Department of Health and the Opioid Operational Command Center. The data was gathered by state agencies and Maryland's 24 opioid intervention teams. During the first three months of 2019, there were 577 total unintentional intoxication deaths, a 15 percent decrease when compared to the same period in 2018.  Steve Schuh with the Command Center said that for the most part- numbers are down across the board…

 

Of that total, 515 (89 percent) were opioid-related deaths, primarily attributable to fentanyl. Opioid-related deaths declined by 14.3 percent from the same time period in 2018. Locally the numbers are on the decline in Allegany and Garrett counties.