In 2014, more than 200 people in Maine died from drug overdoses; the number of neonates being born to mothers with drugs in their systems grew to 8 percent of all births.

A Maine task force to address opiate addiction was formed by the U.S. Attorney General Thomas Delahanty. This task force consists of three sub-groups focusing on treatment, prevention and harm-reduction, and law enforcement.

We need to start considering the current crisis from a complex stance. I am hopeful that the task force and other interested parties are open to different ways of viewing addiction, particularly considering a more physiological-mind-body-spirit viewpoint versus a criminal perspective.

While I don’t have exact answers for this complex issue, some ideas to consider:

1. Identifying at risk folks: In addition to the current prescription monitoring program in Maine, we need to identify early on who is at risk for opiate addiction, and make community based strides toward preventing addiction. We know that childhood trauma relates directly to increased risk of addiction. While the effectiveness of programs like DARE is highly questionable, we can educate those at risk with a greater sense of compassion, and primary care providers can begin to use tools like the Adverse Childhood Experiences Score to determine who is at higher risk for addiction related to the childhood trauma they have experienced, and the resultant impact on the body’s psychoneurological system. Our schools in Maine could become trauma informed or trauma sensitive schools, thereby starting preventative efforts early on.

2. Alternative approaches: The National Institute of Drug Abuse is beginning to look at non-opiate alternate forms of prescription medications to treat pain. Of great promise are the cannabinoids (cannabis) and their ability to treat pain and support the person’s process of overcoming addiction.

3. Integrative modalities: Communities with proper funding can make widely available the integrative model of treatment for addiction, which includes medications, cognitive based therapies, and holistic – healing therapies (such as acupuncture, yoga, meditation, EMDR, etc). This more holistic approach supports actual physiological transformation of the brain’s structure and healing of the psychoneurological system in ways that other singular treatment approaches do not.

4. Pharmaceutical company responsibility: Purdue Pharma is the company that makes oxycontin, which is a strong prescription opiate based medication that, even when prescribed for pain in an appropriate manner, is often the “gateway” to eventual opiate and heroin addiction. Kentucky has recognized that this company bears responsibility for the opiate addiction crisis and they have filed a lawsuit against the company. Purdue Pharma has made billions of dollars from the current opiate crisis, and they could be held financially responsible for this issue. Should Maine join Kentucky in this lawsuit, so that funding for an integrative model of treatment is available?

While there are no easy answers to this complex issue, there is hope that we can compassionately support the healing of individuals, families, and communities suffering the consequences of this epidemic.

Carey Clark is committed to supporting the growth of caring-healing capacity of health care providers, and the healing of the patients they serve. She is an assistant professor of nursing in the University of Maine at Augusta’s RN-BSN Program, where she has been teaching since 2010.