Lawmakers continue effort to fight the drug crisis
AUGUSTA — On the last day of the Legislative session, lawmakers made good on their pledge to take additional steps to fighting the state’s drug epidemic.
In a unanimous vote, the Senate passed a bill to use money from the landmark Standard & Poor’s settlement to fund bipartisan initiatives to Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion programs throughout the state, as well as the creation of additional peer support recovery centers.
“We started this legislative session with a bill to fight the drug crisis by funding additional law enforcement and treatment resources for Mainers struggling with substance abuse,” said Sen. Anne Haskell, D-Portland, the lead Senate Democrat on the Health and Human Services Committee. “We called that bill a first step, and today we took the next one. These programs will provide meaningful relief for Mainers in the grips of the drug epidemic.”
The measures were outlined in two enacted bills: one by Rep. Mark Dion, D-Portland, and another by Rep. Joyce Maker, R-Calais.
Rep. Dion’s bill would make at least eight grants available to substance abuse assistance pilot programs, including those run by local governments to divert alleged low-level offenders into community-based treatment and support services, which would reduce pre-trial costs to jails, and those run by county government or regional jails to provide treatment to inmates. Similar initiatives, such as Operation HOPE in Scarborough, have seen great success in putting vulnerable Mainers on the path to recovery.
Rep. Maker’s bill supported the creation of three new peer support recovery centers in underserved regions of the state. Peer Support Recovery Centers provide Mainers who are in recovery with the resources they need to avoid relapse, including medication assisted treatment.
“Lawmakers banded together this session to address the drug crisis that’s taken too many of our fellow citizens’ lives,” said Sen. Haskell. “I’m proud of the work we’ve done, but make no mistake: This issue is not finished. The next Legislature will have more work to do. We cannot stop until every Mainer who falls prey to substance abuse disorder has the resources they need to enter treatment and recovery.”
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