Staff reports
Thursday, December 17, 2015 5:05 am

AUGUSTA - The number of weekly overdose fatalities in Maine now stands at five, Maine Attorney General Janet Mills said in an announcement on Wednesday.

Mills said Wednesday there were 21 apparent drug overdose deaths in a recent month's worth of data from the Medical Examiner's Office. She said eight of them involved prescription medications.

Mills asked medical officials to be vigilant in reviewing guidelines for prescribing opioid painkillers. She asked doctors to use medication to treat opioid addiction and to check with the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program before using painkiller prescriptions.

Other recommendations are expected from a recently organized heroin task force led by Mills, U.S. Attorney Thomas Delahanty and Public Safety Commissioner John Morris.