Baltimore is progressing in its fight against the local overdose crisis and has more plans in the works, Mayor Brandon Scott said during his annual State of the City address on Monday.
Scott’s speech at Baltimore Center Stage ostensibly served as a highlight reel for his first term. But it also provided insight into his strategy to combat the crisis, at a time when the issue had been left relatively untouched less than two months out from the May primary election.
“One of the most challenging public health challenges our city continues to face is the opioid epidemic,” Scott said. “Killing nearly three times as many people in our city than gun violence, no one in Baltimore has escaped the impact of this crisis.”
With overdose deaths on the rise, Scott said the city is recommitting funds to support its mobile response van, which provides clinical care and social services to those at risk of overdose.
Scott’s office will also create the “Mayor’s Overdose Prevention Cabinet,” he said, although he did not detail the cabinet’s membership.
Recent data proves that the city’s efforts are already working, thanks to initiatives by the Baltimore City Health Department and local organizations, he added.
The Baltimore City Fire Department, for example, has distributed 6,000 naloxone kits since the inception of the population health unit last year. The unit’s work led to a 29% decrease in overdose responses within the first 30 days of distribution.
Overall, there was an 18% increase in overdose responses between August 2023 and February of this year, he said.
Other data, however, shows the beleaguered city is far from getting a handle on the crisis.
Baltimore’s fatal overdose death rate is uniquely high, with the city experiencing the most deaths per capita in the nation. It comprises 41% of overdose fatalities in Maryland, yet it accounts for less than 10% of its population.
Baltimore had 179.8 deaths per 100,000 people — 1,053 in total — in the 12-month period ending November 2023, according to the most recent data from Maryland’s Office of Overdose Response.
The deaths marked a 5.2% increase over the year prior, and about 87% of them were caused by fentanyl, an extremely potent synthetic opioid.
More information about the city’s efforts to combat the overdose crisis can be found on the health department’s website.
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