6 in 10 Mainers Touched by Heroin, Opioid Drug Crisis

A survey underscores the extent of Maine's drug crisis, indicating six in 10 Mainers know someone who has used heroin or abused prescribed opiate painkillers.

The Portland Press Herald poll that was conducted by the University of New Hampshire shows roughly 780,000 Mainers have seen the crisis up close.

The 60 percent figure is higher than the 44 percent in a recent Kaiser Health national survey who said they knew someone who abused heroin or opiates.

Maine saw a 31 percent increase in drug overdose deaths last year. All told, 272 deaths were linked to heroin, fentanyl and other opioids.

The poll results were based on landline and cellphone interviews between with 609 randomly selected adult residents. It has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.