Data Sheet: Prescription distribution

The Sun Journal analyzed data from Maine’s Prescription Monitoring Program from 2016 to 2021; and data from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Automation of Reports and Consolidated Orders System from 2006 to 2014.

Data Sheet: Fatal and nonfatal overdoses 2017-2021

At the root of an epidemic in Maine: a prescription pad

Twenty years after Purdue Pharma introduced its pain medication, OxyContin, Maine lawmakers passed a bill that significantly stemmed the flow of pain pills into the state. A Sun Journal investigation found the new restrictions may have been too little, too late: A generation of Mainers were already grappling with substance use disorder and a growing illicit drug trade was ready to meet the demand.

Methodology: Where the drug data came from