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

FALMOUTH, MA — Massachusetts saw the biggest year-over-year decline in opioid deaths in two decades last year, and Falmouth numbers matched 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 Falmouth, six people died from opioid overdoses in 2023, a decline of nine from 2022's total.

Falmouth represents the state's trend well, with overdose deaths reaching the town's lowest mark since at least 2016. As recently as 2017, Falmouth recorded over 20 opioid overdose deaths in one year.

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.