Duluth police get grant to boost opioid, meth efforts following a record deadly year Department will hire 2nd specialist and a counselor to ward off overdoses. December 16, 2020 — 7:05pm Text size Copy shortlink: DULUTH – A record 19 people have died from opioid overdoses in Duluth this year, and nonfatal opioid overdoses jumped to 183 — an average of one every other day. The Duluth Police Department is working to make sure that's as high as those numbers ever get. As police forces across the country face growing pressures to invest in partnerships that proactively address issues such as addiction and mental health, Duluth received a nearly $900,000 grant to create the Lake Superior Diversion and Substance Use Response Team. That money will fund the hiring of a second peer recovery specialist and a licensed drug and alcohol counselor to provide fast treatment referrals.