Drug Crisis Continues to Poison Braintree, Weymouth

Originally published Oct. 21, 2016.

WEYMOUTH, MA — This week has served as a reminder that the opioid crisis is still strong and active on the South Shore, particularly in Weymouth and Braintree.

On Wednesday, the Weymouth Police Department announced that there have been 177 reported overdoses and 36 deaths attributed to drug overdoses in town so far this year. That is well above the 24 fatal overdoses that took place in all of 2015.

Two drug arrests were also made by officers . On Tuesday, Rony Pena of Boston was charged with selling heroin when he was arrested following an alleged drug sale at the corner of Washington Street and Mutton Lane and Steven Hernandez of Lowell faces charges after allegedly selling fentanyl as heroin during a sale in Columbian Square.

Police in Weymouth say it has become more common drug distributors to sell fentanyl or a combination of fentanyl and heroin, resulting in a combination that is cheap and deadly.

Over in Braintree, police say they've had four confirmed and possibly five overdoses with 12 doses of Narcan administered in a 48-hour period. In a letter to the department, one person said they saw an officer administer Narcan to a man Wednesday.

"It was quick, it was intense, and it was something I had never seen in person," the person wrote. "I thanked (the officer) in person and, to be honest, he seemed confused...shrugged it off like it was all in a routine day. And it made me think. Yes, this is probably too routine for our police force."

Anyone struggling with addiction is asked to reach out to the Braintree police community outreach unit so they can be helped with their options for treatment.

Image: file photo