Resources

How to Get Help

988 Maryland Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
If you or a loved one is struggling with substance use, call, text, or chat 988 to get connected to someone who can help. Learn More.

Find Treatment
Maryland has an easy tool you can use to find treatment for substance use disorders. Learn More.

Naloxone – What You Need to Know
Naloxone (also known by the brand name Narcan®) is a life-saving medication that can quickly restore the breathing of a person experiencing an opioid overdose. Learn More.

• Opioid Overdose Response Steps

Maryland’s Good Samaritan Law
Maryland’s Good Samaritan Law provides legal protections to individuals who call 911 if they witness an overdose. Learn More.

• Good Samaritan Law Fact Sheet
• Datos sobre la Ley del Buen Samaritano (Spanish Language Good Samaritan Law Fact Sheet)

Remove the Risk
Help keep your family and community safe, starting in your home—get rid of any unused or expired prescription opioids that may be hiding in cabinets, drawers, or anywhere else you store medicine. Learn More.

New! Introducing Maryland’s new drug safety quiz series. Do you know the risks, how to respond to an overdose, or where to find naloxone? Test your knowledge on our new quiz page.

Maryland’s Overdose Response Strategy

Maryland’s Office of Overdose Response is pleased to share Maryland’s new Overdose Response Strategy, which identifies five strategic goals to guide the efforts of state agencies working to address substance use and overdose. The new strategy replaces Maryland’s previous Inter-Agency Overdose Coordination Plan.

• Maryland’s Overdose Response Strategy

Overdose Prevention Teams

Each local jurisdiction in Maryland is required to maintain an Overdose Prevention Team, which works to promote multidisciplinary collaboration to expand substance use-related supports. Learn more about Overdose Prevention Teams here.

• OPT Program Inventory as of Q2, 2025

Public Awareness Toolkits

Please use the print and digital resources to share important overdose prevention and response information with your networks!

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
• Naloxone Public Awareness Toolkit
• Good Samaritan Law Public Awareness Toolkit
• Stigma Public Awareness Toolkit
• Fentanyl & Other Drugs

Visit our Public Awareness page for more resources: StopOverdose.maryland.gov/psas

Informational Briefings

• Fact Check: Accidental Fentanyl Exposure – Misinformation & Facts
• Syringe Services Programs: Resources for Law Enforcement Officers
• Language Matters: Using Person-Centered and Descriptive Language to Reduce Stigma Associated with Substance Use Disorders
  Individuals face discrimination and prejudice due to a lack of understanding of substance-related disorders. This affects their ability to access care. Changing the language we use to talk about substance use can reduce stigma by refocusing our thoughts and feelings on individuals and their needs as opposed to reducing them to their health conditions.

Xylazine in Maryland Report

To respond to the potential threat of xylazine, the Maryland Department of Health’s Overdose Data to Action team developed the Maryland Xylazine Workgroup to address questions, share data, and make recommendations for practice, surveillance, and policy development. Their report summarizes the efforts of the Workgroup and presents critical information about xylazine in Maryland.

• About Xylazine
• Xylazine in Maryland Report
• Xylazine in Maryland Report – Executive Summary

Rapid Analysis of Drugs (RAD)

RAD is a statewide drug-checking program overseen by the Maryland Department of Health’s Center for Harm Reduction Services. RAD tests paraphernalia samples voluntarily submitted by participants of syringe services programs in Maryland and provides information on drug composition in near real-time.

• Rapid Analysis of Drugs Report – Volume 1: Xylazine
  This report assesses the presence of xylazine in RAD samples between October 2021 and October 2023.

Reports

• Racial Disparities in Overdose Task Force Recommendations
• Data-Informed Overdose Risk Mitigation (DORM) 2023 Annual Report
  The Data-Informed Overdose Risk Mitigation (DORM) initiative examines the prescription and treatment history of individuals in Maryland who died from an overdose to identify common risk factors. To view older reports, visit our StopOverdose.maryland.gov/DORM.

For older reports, view our Report Archive.

Community Resources

• Syringe Service Programs in Maryland
  Find naloxone, safer drug use supplies and wound care supplies at your local Maryland Syringe Service Program.
• Harm Reduction Resources
• Overdose Prevention
• Remove the Risks
  Removing prescription opioids from your home as soon as possible can reduce the chance that they are taken by accident or on purpose. Learn how to get rid of any unused or expired prescription opioids that may be hiding in cabinets, drawers, or anywhere else you store medicine.
• Prescription Drug Drop-Off Collection Sites
• Maryland Addiction Consultation Service (MACS)