BALTIMORE – Early data show opioid overdose deaths are continuing to decline across Maryland this year, including in Baltimore. But the crisis is still entrenched in the city, which endured one of its largest mass overdose events on record in July, when more than two dozen people were sent to the hospital after ingesting a tainted batch of drugs in the Penn North neighborhood.
Public health experts The Baltimore Sun spoke with say the crisis persists in Baltimore for many reasons, but a lack of resources isn’t one of them.
“Baltimore is a place where you can, I sometimes joke, throw a stone and hit a buprenorphine treatment center,” said Marc Fishman, medical director at Maryland Treatment Centers, referring to the prescription medication used to treat opioid use disorder and manage severe pain. “It’s not for lack of slots. It’s not for lack of availability. It’s not for lack of beds.”…