Lowest number of fatal overdoses in seven years reported in Harford

Last year there were 74 fatal drug overdoses in Harford County — the lowest overdose fatality number the county has seen in seven years.

Data from the Maryland Department of Health shows that both Harford County and the state had a lower number of fatal overdoses in 2023, when compared with 2022. In 2022, there were 2,576 fatal overdoses across the state. In 2023, that number dropped to 2,511.

Maryland Department of Health data shows that 2023 overdoses at both the state and local levels were vastly due to opioids and fentanyl. The third leading cause of fatal overdoses for both Harford and the state was cocaine.

The rate of fatal overdoses has been declining in Harford since 2021 when the county had 96 total. The following year, that number dropped to 95. Data from the state for 2023 shows a total of 74 fatal overdoses for Harford, a 22% reduction.

At the state level, the highest number of fatal overdoses for 2023 occurred with victims age 55 and older. The lowest age group at the state level for fatal overdoses was age 25 and younger.

In Harford, Maryland Department of Health data shows the county to have had no fatal overdoses for victims age 55 and older in 2023. The age groups of 35-44 and 45-54 appear to be the highest fatality age group with 22 fatal overdoses each for 2023.

Harford’s lowest fatal overdose age group were victims ages 25-34 which had 11 victims in 2023.

Within the past 10 years, Harford hit an all-time high of 101 fatal overdoses in 2018. The state’s 10-year high was in 2021 when the number of fatal overdoses hit 2,800.

Both the state and Harford saw the lowest number of fatal overdoses in 2014 with the state at 1,041 and Harford at 43 fatal overdoses.

From September 2023 to August 2024, emergency medical services across the state administered 6,527 doses of naloxone — a medicine that reverses opioid overdoses. During the same time period, Harford EMS administered 249 doses, according to the Maryland Department of Health. The number has increased by three since 2022 and by 118 since 2021.

Got a news tip? Contact Matt Hubbard at mhubbard@baltsun.com , 443-651-0101 or @mthubb on X.