What Trump's New Opioid Commission Means For Massachusetts

This week, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health said that the number of deaths caused by opioid-related overdoses last year is projected to top 2,000 for the first time in the Commonwealth.

That means that each day, an average of nearly six people inject or snort a drug, and never wake up.

Marylou Sudders, the state's Secretary of Human Services, responded to the new numbers, saying, "The fact that the absolute number would appear to be just over 2,000 in 2016 is a sobering reminder that we still have a lot more work to do to bend the trend of opioid death."

We learned of those numbers as President Trump named five members to a White House Commission to combat the opioid crisis, including Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, and former Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy.

Martha Bebinger, reporter for WBUR. She tweets @mbebinger.