PORTLAND (AP) – Accidental drug-overdose deaths have reached record levels in Maine, with increases cropping up in all parts of the state.

The number of such deaths hit 151 in 2004, a 20 percent increase since the previous record three years ago, according to preliminary data. The numbers for this year are also high, with officials in Portland reporting a spike in recent months.

“What we’re seeing is a bunch more cocaine overdoses, which is a big part of that increase,” said Kim Johnson, director of Maine’s Office of Substance Abuse.

The figures also reflect a continuing problem with heroin and prescription drugs, most notably methadone in pill form that has been prescribed for pain rather than to help ease addiction.

When fatal overdoses doubled to 125 in 2002, Maine was facing a wave of OxyContin abuse that some experts said was creating a new generation of users addicted to hard drugs.

In response, the state began an education program targeted at medical providers, addicts and the public. Officials compiled data on the problem and increased oversight and monitoring of methadone clinics.

Substance-abuse workers are now trying to determine whether drug users’ awareness of those overdose prevention efforts has dimmed, contributing to more reckless behavior.

“Everybody in the state seemed to agree we made some good progress,” said Dr. John Burton, medical director of Maine Emergency Medical Services and research director for Maine Medical Center’s Department of Emergency Medicine. “My observations have been we seem to be having an increase in our encounters again.”

The problem was the focus of a meeting this week in Portland of medical professionals, prevention officials and law enforcement officers.

The director of Portland’s Overdose Prevention Project said the city saw a decline in overdoses in 2003 and 2004, but there is concern about the numbers heading the other way.

“The last six weeks we’ve seen an alarming kind of increase, where we don’t know if it’s a blip, where it will come back down, or a trend,” Ronni Katz said.