With stimulant-related overdoses rising in Massachusetts and nationwide over the past decade, researchers at Boston Medical Center created an overdose prevention toolkit that factors in cocaine and methamphetamine.
Designed to help outreach workers connect with overdose survivors who use stimulants, the toolkit significantly improved engagement rates across 11 Massachusetts post-overdose outreach programs, according to a new study published this month.
Stimulant-involved overdose deaths increased ninefold across the U.S. between 2010 and 2021. In Massachusetts, cocaine was present in 54% of opioid-related overdose deaths in 2023, and amphetamines appeared in 11% of cases. Both represent substantial increases since 2016…