Governor Mills Statement on 2018 Drug Overdose Death Report

Governor Janet Mills issued the following statement in response to the release of the 2018 drug overdose death report issued today by the Maine Attorney General’s Office:

“It is welcome news that the number of people losing their lives to drug overdoses has decreased, but the opioid epidemic still presents a serious public health threat to our state,” said Governor Mills. “My administration will continue to do all we can to combat this crisis, save lives, and repair families and communities. We will not rest in our determination to end this epidemic.”

“While this report shows improvement, the number of people we lost to this crisis last year is still alarming,” said Gordon Smith, Governor Mills’ Director of Opioid Response. “We will continue to harness the collective power of state government and community partners to strengthen prevention and recovery efforts and ensure that we leave no stone unturned as we combat this scourge.”