A spike in opioid overdose deaths spanning from the Pioneer Valley to Cape Cod has state police investigators looking for a link in an attempt to stem the tide.
According to the Massachusetts State Police, there have been 58 such overdose deaths since Dec. 1 in towns and cities of all sizes, including Northampton, Wilbraham, Easthampton, Palmer, Chicopee and Holyoke in Western Mass. State Police Colonel Timothy Alben says that detectives are working with local cops to find commonalities in the deaths that could help determine if a bad batch of heroin is circulating through Massachusetts and if it is potentially coming from a singular source.
"The department is currently cataloguing and comparing evidence to determine whether any common patterns or similarities exist in terms of the composition, brands, or sources of the narcotics. That effort is ongoing and we have reached no conclusions as of yet," Alben said in a press release.
The heroin epidemic's resurgence in the past few years has led to a public health crisis throughout much of the Northeast U.S., including Massachusetts. While the Bay State had just 363 opioid-related deaths in the year 2000, by 2011 that number had grown to 642 by 2011. That figure was more than 860 in 2013, according to the Mass. Department of Public Health.
This map released this week by the Massachusetts State Police shows the suspected heroin-related deaths from across the Bay State from Dec 1 through 16, 2014. The data does not include Springfield, Worcester or Boston, however, as those cities don't report such deaths to the state police.
In 2013, President Barack Obama's administration renewed the nation's drug policy, transforming it to address the drug problem and addiction as public health issues. Treating substance abuse primarily as a criminal justice issue dates back to the declaration of the "war on drugs" in the early 1970s by President Richard Nixon and based on data collected over the course of nearly 40 years proved unsuccessful.
Alben said that troopers are arresting suspected dealers every week, but institutionally they understand that the heroin crisis isn't going to be "won" one arrest at a time.
"The Massachusetts State Police, working with the DEA and local police across Massachusetts, continue to target the illegal drug trade - from the street level, up the supply chain, to major dealers. We recognize, however, that enforcement is but one component in mitigating this public health threat," Alben said. "Treatment and counseling strategies currently being employed by public and private health agencies offer the best opportunities for assistance with substance abuse issues. We raise these concerns in the hope that families, friends and acquaintances of those suffering from addiction might better understand the hidden dangers of heroin use and direct those with addictions to sources of help and rehabilitation. If one person heeds this message it may prevent the loss of a life."