During
2014 there was an increase in Opioid Abuse in cities and towns across
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Data was collected using the City of
Worcester's crime reporting website. The data collected was for the
months of July - October 2014 to show the distribution of drug related
crimes that occurred during those months and the relationship to
Environmental Justice Populations and distance to the cities
detox/methadone/suboxone clinics. The map of Massachusetts shows the
2012 admissions to treatment facilities for those related to heroin use.
In 2012 there was an alarming number of admission in those towns
located in Southern Massachusetts and Cape Cod. These numbers, alarming
as they are, are prior to the recent epidemic of a "bad batch" of
heroin circulating on the streets, causing many fatal and non-fatal
overdoses.
