Norfolk County opioid deaths continue to rise
The number of deaths caused by opioid overdoses in Norfolk County has more than doubled in the last two years, jumping to a high of 151 for 2015 as of Wednesday, according to The Boston Globe.
Sixty-three people died from overdoses in 2013, increasing to 94 in 2014, Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey told the Globe. These numbers only include cases in which Massachusetts State Police investigated unattended death scenes, so Morrissey estimates that the actual number of deaths is likely higher.
To put the statistics into perspective, Morrissey said that about one person a week dies in a car crash in Norfolk County, while about three a week die of an opioid overdose.
“The numbers are growing in spite of all the good work we are doing… And on the one hand, it gets kind of discouraging,’’ Morrissey told the Globe. “But then again, the numbers would be through the absolute roof if we weren’t doing what we are doing.’’
Read the full Globe story here.
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