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Heroin Deaths On The Rise Again In Massachusetts

Matthew Kang, flickr
Credit Matthew Kang, flickr

Heroin deaths and overdoses surged in Massachusetts in December following a decline during the summer

State Police reported 114 suspected opioid deaths in Massachusetts last month, almost double the number from November.  The figures do not include suspected drug-related deaths in the state’s three-largest cities.   Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Karen Polito said the administration will announce a plan within a week or two to tackle the crisis.

" There's a lot of work being done on the treatment and recovery side of the equation, but we need to start at prevention," said Polito.  " Let's just say no."

Former Governor Deval Patrick declared a public health emergency following a surge in heroin deaths ten months ago and the legislature voted more money for addiction treatment efforts.

Copyright 2015 WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Paul Tuthill is WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief. He’s been covering news, everything from politics and government corruption to natural disasters and the arts, in western Massachusetts since 2007. Before joining WAMC, Paul was a reporter and anchor at WRKO in Boston. He was news director for more than a decade at WTAG in Worcester. Paul has won more than two dozen Associated Press Broadcast Awards. He won an Edward R. Murrow award for reporting on veterans’ healthcare for WAMC in 2011. Born and raised in western New York, Paul did his first radio reporting while he was a student at the University of Rochester.

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