Lawmakers push for money to strengthen Maine’s mental health crisis system

opioid epidemic

Published
February 24, 2020

Lawmakers push for money to strengthen Maine’s mental health crisis system

A bill before the Legislature would put roughly $1.2 million toward bolstering the state's mental health system in the hopes of freeing county jails of the burden of caring for the state's mentally ill.
Published
February 19, 2020

Maine gets $6.3 million for substance abuse job training

A two-year federal grant will help train treatment workers and prepare addiction sufferers for the job market.
Published
February 19, 2020

Commentary: Working together to reach Maine people at risk and in crisis

As commissioners of the Maine departments of Health and Human Services and Corrections, we work toward making some of our services unnecessary.
Published
January 27, 2020

Our View: Harsh state drug laws doing more harm than good

It's too easy for Mainers struggling with addiction to end up with the burden of a felony conviction.
Published
January 26, 2020

Our View: Maine’s opioid epidemic is far from over

We're doing most of the right things to save lives. We just need to do more.
Published
January 24, 2020

Health groups propose statewide network of ‘low-barrier’ drug treatment clinics

The pilot proposal, which carries a price tag of $920,000, comes at a time when drug overdose deaths appear to be rising again despite efforts to tackle the problem.
Published
January 24, 2020

Five overdose deaths so far this month have Portland on alert

Police say the rash of overdoses is concerning and yet another sign that the state's prolonged opioid crisis has not abated.
Published
January 17, 2020

Maine lawmakers urged to tackle mental health crisis in the state’s jails

A bill before the Legislature aims to ease the strain on the corrections system, including county jails, which increasingly house people with mental health issues who face criminal charges.
Published
January 15, 2020

Maine needs more services for opioid treatment, state drug official says

Gordon Smith, the state's director of opioid response, tells lawmakers that access to medication-assisted treatment has improved but Maine needs more long-term recovery services such as housing, counseling and coaching.
Published
January 12, 2020

Ex-drug company executives face reckoning in opioid bribery case

The case against Insys Therapeutics is considered the first seeking to hold an opioid maker criminally liable for the ongoing drug crisis.