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It’s often said that the opioid crisis hurts every community, and in Massachusetts, only a few towns can report they are without an overdose death this century. All have fewer than 2,000 residents.
Yet the epidemic has preyed on some cities and towns with a special vengeance. A new analysis by The Enterprise offers a dynamic picture of where the use of painkillers, heroin and fentanyl has claimed lives in Massachusetts since the year 2000. 
Like so many health crises, the epidemic has hit hardest in poorer communities, though that simplification cannot explain the intricacies of the epidemic’s geography. Income alone does not explain what drives a person to use opioids, nor does it explain why Fall River and New Bedford have led the state in overdose deaths per capita for nearly 20 years, while Chelsea, a marginally poorer community, has hovered near the statewide average. ....

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