the reverse of that phenomena, state experts fear that those with substance use disorder are more vulnerable to COVID-19 due to damaged lungs and respiratory systems causing a higher rate of infection. Added to that is the fact that those individuals are affected by stay-at-home orders, where they are more likely to succumb the temptation of use and overdose. There are many social services groups, like Capital Area Human Services, providing therapy as well as opioid-reversal drugs; and No Overdose Baton Rouge, which offers clean syringes, the opioid antagonist nasal spray naloxone, and sterile smoking devices, attempting to help. Maine In Maine, new laws were imposed which capped the maximum daily strength of prescribed opioids and limited prescriptions to seven days. Maryland In March 2017, the governor of Maryland declared a state of emergency to combat the rapid increase in overdoses by increasing and speeding up coordination between the state and local jurisdictions. The previous year about 2,000 people in the state had died from opioid overdoses. Massachusetts Boston Medical Center has changed its approach to addiction and overdose treatment, due to the pandemic. It now offers telehealth appointments which officials believe are more effective than tradition in-person treatment, as more people are participating. Additionally patients are able to get doses of methadone and addiction medications like buprenorphine without an in-person visit. The state's Department of Public Health indicated that there was a downturn in total overdose deaths in the first quarter of 2020 but that rates of overdose mortality among Black men and women, as well as Hispanic men's overdose incidents, showed a notable increase. A COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund disbursed grants to nonprofits serving opioid addiction sufferers and the Boston Resiliency Fund awarded $500K to similar groups. In 2016, the number of deaths within Massachusetts was the highest it had ever been and twice the national average with 29.7 deaths per 100,000. In order to regulate the use of opioids, Governor Charlie Baker signed Bill H.4056 or the STEP Act into law on March 14, 2016. Due to the STEP Act, opioid prescribing rates fell by 29 percent. According to the Boston Indicators, in 2020 the rate of overdoses related to opioid use disorder was 30.2 per 100,000 people. This was about 1.6% lower than the rate in 2016. The STEP Act's primary focus is on limiting the supply of opioids and providing patients with the opportunity to