MA Saw A Drop In Overdose Deaths In 2023. What About Braintree?

BRAINTREE, MA — Massachusetts saw the biggest year-over-year decline in opioid deaths in two decades last year, but Braintree numbers didn't match that trend.

Massachusetts opioid overdose deaths increased every year between 2019 and 2022, reaching an all-time high of 2,357 in 2022. An estimated 2,125 died in 2023, and deaths over the first three months of 2024 were trending lower than in previous years, the state Department of Public Health said Wednesday.

In Braintree, seven people died from opioid overdoses in 2023, an increase of one from 2022.

Braintree has only reached double-digit overdose deaths once since 2016 when the town had 10 in 2017. Six deaths in 2018 and 2022 were the lowest totals in that time period.

State officials attributed the reduction to increased investments in treatment programs and housing, the distribution of nearly 200,000 naloxone overdose kits and increasing access to medications to treat opioid-use disorder. The state has focused its efforts especially on people living in rural areas and in communities of color.