Governor Mills Announces 20 Percent Decline in Fatal Drug Overdoses in 2025

Latest figures show three consecutive years of significant reductions in fatal drug overdoses in Maine

Governor Janet Mills today announced that fatal drug overdoses in Maine have fallen for the third consecutive year.

The December monthly drug overdose report from the University of Maine found preliminarily that 390 individuals in Maine died from a drug overdose in 2025 -- a 20 percent decrease from 2024, when 490 individuals died from overdoses. Nonfatal overdoses dropped 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. Since taking office in 2019, Governor Mills has made combatting opioid abuse a priority, through initiatives to increase prevention, naloxone distribution, treatment and recovery support, and housing and workforce initiatives.

"The continued drop in overdose deaths is welcome, but we also know that we cannot be complacent in our efforts address the effects of substance use disorder in our communities," said Governor Mills. "My Administration remains deeply committed to supporting people as they walk the path of recovery and eliminating the opioid epidemic."

"These preliminary data show that our collective progress saved an additional 100 lives from drug overdoses in 2025," said Opioid Response Director Gordon Smith. "Maine's widespread distribution of the overdose antidote naloxone and the work of our OPTIONS liaisons, combined with the declining prevalence of deadly fentanyl in the national drug supply, all contributed to this 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."

"The continued decline in overdose deaths is encouraging and reflects the impact of sustained investments in prevention, treatment, and recovery services across Maine," said Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Sara Gagné-Holmes. "Expanded access to evidence-based treatment, recovery supports, and harm-reduction services is saving lives, and we remain focused on sustaining and strengthening these efforts for individuals, families, and communities across our state."

"This milestone provides critical confirmation that the work we are doing at present -- whether it's the naloxone distribution, the expenditures for low-barrier shelters and treatment programming, educating medical providers, supporting law enforcement, all of our hard work -- is saving lives," said Attorney General Aaron M. Frey. "There is still more work to do, and evidence of this progress motivates us in this continued fight."

The 2025 figures from the latest monthly report are considered provisional until toxicology tests from suspected overdoses from the final months of 2025 are finalized.

Last summer, Governor Mills issued a proclamation declaring Aug 31 as International Overdose Awareness Day in Maine and urging continued commitment to fighting the opioid epidemic.

Under her leadership, the state has taken significant actions to save lives from opioids, including:

• Providing health insurance coverage through MaineCare expansion to nearly 230,000 Mainers, with more than 69,000 individuals receiving treatment for substance use since 2019;
• Establishing the Overdose Prevention Through Intensive Outreach Naloxone and Safety (OPTIONS) Program statewide, including adding recovery coaches to OPTIONS teams in Maine to work alongside local emergency services and law enforcement to provide brief therapeutic interventions, outreach, referrals and post-overdose follow-up for individuals;
• Developing Maine's statewide naloxone distribution program and increasing distribution of naloxone to nearly 800,000 doses since 2019, which has been used to reverse over 12,000 overdoses that may have otherwise been fatal;
• Supporting the efforts of law enforcement to interdict illicit drugs. In 2025, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency reported seizing more than 24 pounds of the lethal opioid fentanyl, a leading cause of overdoses.
• Expanding treatment for substance use and opioid use disorder with increases in Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD), and increasing Opioid Treatment Programs (OTP) and prescribing providers across the state;
• Delivering more than 3,830 Recovery Coach trainings;
• Increasing the number of Recovery Community Centers and Certified Recovery Residences across the state, with over 75 percent of Certified Recovery Residences supporting residents on medication for substance use disorders;
• Bolstering Opioid Treatment Programs (OTP) to 15, which now provide daily methadone to more than 5,400 patients, and supported the first Mobile OTP unit in Maine;
• Expanding Maine's "Good Samaritan" law, first signed by Governor Mills in 2019, which encourages individuals to call for life-saving assistance when someone at their location is experiencing an overdose;
• Providing funding for medically monitored withdrawal beds through the Office of Behavioral Health to support room and board and other costs not covered by MaineCare, as well as funding support for residential treatment and low-barrier shelters;
• Over the course of the last several years, vastly expanding team-based treatment of opioid use disorder for eligible MaineCare members and uninsured individuals through Opioid Health Homes;
• Establishing Recovery Friendly Workplaces, with 86 businesses that employ nearly 25,000 employees now certified.

_If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, dial or text 988 to connect with someone in Maine who can provide immediate support and link you to nearby resources. Treatment Connection offers a private search tool with more than 400 listings to help individuals and families find local substance use and mental health services. The OPTIONS initiative works statewide to support treatment, harm reduction, and recovery, and to reduce fatal and non-fatal overdoses through community-based outreach._