The loss of coverage in the state would come amid an opioid crisis in which an average of one person a day dies from an overdose. By Joe Lawlor An estimated 8,300 Mainers with substance use disorders will lose access to treatment programs if the Affordable Care Act is repealed, according to an analysis published Wednesday by researchers at New York University and Harvard Medical School. The loss of coverage would come amid an opioid crisis in which Mainers are dying from drug overdoses ... Read More ›
News
PPH – Barriers discourage Maine doctors from providing Suboxone to opioid addicts
Financial and other disincentives make it 'a lot to ask,' but recent progress that includes more funding for medication-assisted treatment offers signs of hope. By Joe Lawlor Doctors’ groups have spent several months trying to coax fellow physicians to become Suboxone providers – apparently to little effect. Boosting the low supply of doctors who prescribe Suboxone is a crucial piece of the puzzle that if solved would help to meet the treatment demand for the thousands of Mainers in ... Read More ›
KJ – From the State House: Mental health policy a matter of life and death
We must protect funding for prevention and treatment of mental illness. By Senator Cathy Breen I read with great sadness the story in this newspaper about John Norton, a smart and talented young man with a bright future cut short after a nearly two-year struggle with schizophrenia. In the wake of his suicide, Norton’s parents were determined to share their story. His mother said they wanted to help other families dealing with the pain and confusion of schizophrenia. I applaud their ... Read More ›
PPH Letter to the editor: Increased access to addiction treatment in Maine a critical first step
Gov. Paul LePage and Commissioner Mary Mayhew of the Department of Health and Human Services have taken a huge first step toward meeting the growing need for treatment of opioid addiction in Maine. As an alliance of community-based behavioral health providers across the state, we applaud their efforts with this recent addition of 359 new slots for medication-assisted treatment. The slots will go to people without insurance who have no access to treatment currently. This is a critical step ... Read More ›
WGME – How the opioid epidemic impacted Maine communities in 2016
STATEWIDE (WGME) -- On average one person dies a day from a drug overdose in Maine, according to Maine Attorney General Janet Mills. And 2016 is set to be another record year for drug related deaths. "It's not a reflection of someone being poor or unemployed or uneducated. The opioid addiction problem crosses all strata of our demographics in Maine and all regions,” Attorney General Mills said. In April, lawmakers drafted a bill that would allow pharmacists to give naloxone, also known ... Read More ›
Maine Communities Putting Brakes on Marijuana Sales
Some municipalities have enacted moratoriums on marijuana sales to determine zoning rules for retailers By Danielle Waugh Marijuana legalization may have passed in Maine, but some towns and cities are putting on the brakes, and blocking retailers from setting up shop. From Bangor to Portland, municipalities have enacted moratoriums on marijuana sales to determine zoning rules for retailers. “We need to make sure we get it as right as we can for our community,” said South Portland Mayor Patti ... Read More ›
KJ – Our Opinion: Conflicts abound as doctors push Big Pharma line
There are still physicians willing to push the old narrative on drugs like OxyContin, and we all pay the price. By The Editorial Board Today’s nationwide epidemic of opiate addiction was given birth in part by doctors who with the best of intentions wanted to help patients in pain, and by drug companies who said they had just the remedy — long-lasting, effective painkillers with none of the addictive qualities of their predecessors. Hundreds of millions of prescriptions later, we know all ... Read More ›
BDN – Mainers are among the heaviest-drinking Americans
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 Posted Dec. 25, 2016, at 12:02 p.m. “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 until the new year. While we don’t ... Read More ›
PPH – Our Opinion: State opioid plan welcome, but more is needed
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 12.22.16 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 uninsured, pales in comparison to the need. But with an average of one ... Read More ›
Sentinel – Addict amnesty program in Gloucester, Massachusetts, shows promising results
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 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 first year of operation, researchers say in a report being published ... Read More ›