For the second time this year, there is a month with no drug overdose deaths in Broome County.

The District Attorney’s Office reports no O.D. deaths in the month of May.  There were also no drug deaths in February.

Debate continues as to whether declining O.D. deaths are due to better intervention and treatment or the greater access to overdose reversal treatments like Narcan keeping people who are still overdosing from actually dying.

While the number of longer-term treatment facilities available in the Binghamton area is on the rise, law enforcement and health officials admit people suffering from addiction disorders cannot be forced to enter into treatment.

Law enforcement agencies are also conducting on-going reviews of their practices in the fight to keep drugs out of the area and less available to users.  There is also a continuing effort to push for stronger penalties for dealers.

District Attorney Stephen Cornwell expects to release the final O.D. death numbers for the second quarter within the next few weeks.

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