Alfond says LePage must stop dragging his feet on drug crisis
AUGUSTA — More than five months after lawmakers passed a law to address the drug crisis, Gov. Paul LePage continues to delay the law’s implementation as law enforcement officials call for renewed urgency to prevent further loss of life.
Sanford police responded to six overdose incidents in one 24-hour period last week, which included one fatality. Meanwhile in Monmouth, a town of just 4,100 people, police responded to three heroin overdoses last week. One victim is currently on life support.
Sanford Police Chief Thomas Connolly has called on state officials to do more to address the crisis, including increasing access to low-cost outpatient treatment, according to the Portland Press Herald.
“Chief Connolly is right. We must do all we can to prevent any more loss of life, and to help the untold number of Mainers struggling with addiction to get on the path toward recovery,” said Senate Democratic Leader Justin Alfond, of Portland.
“The Legislature enacted laws to address the drug crisis this year, but Gov. LePage hasn’t even taken the first step to put those laws into practice,” Alfond said. “In January, we passed an emergency bill that included funding for a new 10-bed detox facility. Almost six months later, the governor still hasn’t so much as put out a request for proposals to get the detox center up and running. Meanwhile, Mainers continue to die. We cannot afford to let the governor drag his feet. Our communities need help — not tomorrow, not next month, not next year. Now.”
Lawmakers moved swiftly when the Legislature convened in January to pass LD 1537, “An Act to Combat Drug Addiction through Enforcement, Prevention, Treatment and Recovery.” Among other things, the bill provided $2.4 million for additional addiction treatment programs, including the new detoxification facility. It also supported increased access to treatment services for uninsured Mainers, and bolstered peer support recovery centers, which help those in recovery avoid relapse. The bill also funded 10 new Maine Drug Enforcement Agency positions, to help stem the inflow of drugs into the state.
In addition to LD 1537, the Legislature passed bills to:
- expand access to Narcan, a life-saving drug that can stop an overdose in its tracks;
- fund eight new law-enforcement pilot programs to divert alleged low-level offenders into community-based treatment and support services, rather than jail; and
- create three new peer-support recovery centers, which provide Mainers who are in recovery with the resources they need to avoid relapse, including medication assisted treatment.
The number of drug overdoses continues to climb in Maine, with 2015 and 2014 each breaking previous records for the number of overdose deaths.
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