Please go to the Bangor Daily News to read the full article. New England is home to the nation’s heaviest drinkers, where Maine, Vermont, and Connecticut also come in at drinking rates above 60 percent. By Christopher Ingraham, The Washington Post ~~Excerpt “Mission Accomplished. Got everything done. Now I get to binge drink through New Year’s.” Twitter user “Comfortably Smug” tidily sums up the holiday sentiments of many of us as we wrap up 2016’s loose ends before checking out ... Read More ›
News
PPH – Our Opinion: State opioid plan welcome, but more is needed
Please go to the Portland Press Herald to read the full editorial. Expanding medication-assisted treatment is a positive move forward, but thousands of Mainers will still need care before the crisis subsides. By The PPH Editorial Board ~~Excerpt For years now, Maine’s response to a mounting drug crisis has missed one key component. Medication-assisted treatment with Suboxone or methadone is the gold standard for opiate addiction, yet its availability in Maine, particularly to the ... Read More ›
Sentinel – Addict amnesty program in Gloucester, Massachusetts, shows promising results
Please go to centralmaine.com to read the full article. A report on the program begun by the town's police department shows addicts who sought assistance got placed into treatment 95 percent of the time. By PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press ~~Excerpt BOSTON — A novel drug addiction program developed in a small Massachusetts fishing town and since replicated in dozens of cities nationwide was able to place almost 400 addicts into treatment nearly each time they sought it during the ... Read More ›
PPH – In shift, state to dedicate $2.4 million to medication-assisted treatment for addiction
The funding, a combination of state and federal dollars, will go primarily to methadone clinics that also offer behavioral health counseling. By Eric Russell Portland Press Herald Staff Writer AUGUSTA — The state’s Department of Health and Human Services will direct $2.4 million in existing funds to support the expansion of medication-assisted treatment for opiate addiction – an apparent policy shift for an administration that has been slow to embrace that option. The creation of 359 new ... Read More ›
PPH – Our View: Maine’s opioid crisis too big for small programs to handle alone
Please go to the Portland Press Herald to read the full editorial. The Scarborough Police Department can't fill a leadership role better suited to the state. ~~Excerpt It was one of the rare good news stories of the opiate overdose crisis: Members of one police department decided to do something to stop the spread of what looked to be more of a sickness than a crime. Scarborough cops offered addicts a deal. If you want to get clean, come into the station and we won’t arrest you. Instead, ... Read More ›
KJ – Shuttered Hallowell addiction treatment agency under investigation for fraud allegations
Please go to centralmaine.com to read the full article. The agency reportedly owes more than $300,000 to MaineCare, the state's Medicaid program. From the Kennebec Journal ~~Except A Hallowell mental health and addiction treatment agency that closed suddenly in September — leaving a few hundred clients without services — was under investigation for fraud and owed more than $300,000 to the state, according to emails exchanged among state health officials, agency staff members and others ... Read More ›
Doctors fear opioid crisis will get worse in 2017
BRIDGTON, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — There is more troubling news about the ongoing opioid crisis. According to the CDC, more people nationwide died from heroin-related causes than from gun homicides last year. Here in Maine in 2015, drug overdose deaths from heroin, fentanyl and other opioids surpassed the number of fatalities from car accidents for the very first time. Two-hundred and eighty-six people have died from drug overdoses in Maine this year. Just five years ago, motor vehicle ... Read More ›
Maine experts hail U.S. surgeon general’s report on addiction crisis
Please go to the Portland Press Herald to read the full article. Public health officials and treatment specialists say "Facing Addiction in America" could change the public's perception that drug abuse is a moral failing rather than a disease. ~~Excerpt Malory Shaughnessy, executive director of the Maine Alliance for Addiction and Mental Health Services, said the surgeon general's report is a good step, but she doesn’t know what the Trump administration will do with it. “For all this ... Read More ›
Opioid Overdose Toolkit released by SAMHS
SAMHSA has released a revised version of the Opioid Overdose Toolkit. This toolkit is designed to educate first responders, physicians, patients, family members, and community members on ways to prevent opioid overdose. Opioid use disorder has become a major health problem that accounts for a growing number of overdoses each year. In 2014, opioid overdose deaths reached alarming levels: More than 28,000 people in the United States died from opioid overdose, mainly opioid pain relievers and ... Read More ›
People can and do recover
Darren Ripley, Coordinator, The Maine Alliance for Addiction Recovery Maine has a serious problem with substance abuse and addiction. The headlines are an almost daily reminder of the deadly toll that drugs and/or alcohol have on individuals and families from all walks of life. But despite the grim statistics and tragedies, there is hope. Treatment works and people can get better. Recovery is possible. As the 25th anniversary of National Recovery Month comes to a close, it’s important not ... Read More ›