It was announced today that fatal drug overdoses in Maine have fallen for the third consecutive year according to a press release from Lame Duck Governor Janet T. Mills’, 78, office this afternoon.

The December monthly drug overdose from the University of Maine fpreliminarily that 390 individuals in Maine died from a drug overdose in 2025 – a 20 percent decrease from 2024, when 490 individuals died from overdoeses.  Nofatal overdoses droped by nine percent in Maine over the same period , from 8,040 in 2024 to 7,313 in 2025.

The number of fatal overdoses in 2025 is the lowest in Maine since 2019, when 380 people died from overdoses.  The 2025 figures from the latest monthly report are considered provisional until toxiology tests from suspeced overdoses from the first months of 2025 are finalilzed.

“These prelkminary data show that our collective progress saved an addiional 100 lives from drug overdoses in 2025,” said Opiod Response Director Gordon Smith.  “Maine’s widespread distribution of the overdose antidote naloxone and the work of our OPTIONS liaison, combined with the declining prevalence of deadly fentanyl in the national drug supply, all contributed to the decline.  But we must continue doing all we can to prevent people from using drugs and ensure that those who need treatment can get it to maintain this momentum across Maine’s cities and towns.”