The Opioid Operational Command Center (OOCC) has released the 2020 Maryland Inter-Agency Opioid Coordination Plan.

From the coordination plan:

Opioids have presented Maryland with a dire and unprecedented crisis – a crisis that stole the lives of more than 2,000 citizens in both 2017 and 2018. The effects of opioids on our state have been far reaching, and no jurisdiction or citizen has been spared from their wrath. We are thankful that 2019 brought Maryland the first six-month decline in opioid fatalities in over a decade. However, we must bear in mind that fatalities are still running near all-time highs.

The coordination plan is an integral component of our state’s coordinated response to the epidemic – a response that has been viewed as a model for other states facing the same devastating effects of the opioid tragedy. The administration of Governor Larry Hogan started this work in 2015 under the leadership of Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford with a focus on three key policy priorities: Prevention & Education, Enforcement & Public Safety, and Treatment & Recovery. These policy areas form the basis of our approach, and they drive each of the goals in this plan.

As reported by WTOP:

Among the steps to be taken are gathering more information about the crisis, and expanding access to substance abuse and mental health services for those fighting addiction.

The state will also place an emphasis on helping those behind bars, and that includes jails to abide by H.B. 116, which requires inmates to be examined for mental illness and substance abuse and, if needed, help them obtain treatment.

For more information:

Maryland’s Inter-Agency Opioid Coordination Plan (OOCC)

Maryland sees slight decline in opioid overdose deaths; state tackles crisis with new plan (WTOP)