Category Archives: Opiate abuse

Gov. Christie has the right equation to address addiction crisis

By now, you probably have seen the now viral video of New Jersey Governor and GOP Presidential candidate Chris Christie talking about the drug abuse crisis.  If you haven’t watched it yet, I encourage you to take a few minutes to watch it now before reading the rest of this article: For me, what is […]

How a recovery-oriented approach to substance abuse means economic development for Maine

Last week I posted this article talking about how moving to a recovery-oriented approach to substance abuse can also be a form of economic development.  In particular, I posit that employers implementing hiring programs for people in recovery would be one such strategy.  Lo and behold, there are indeed companies out there starting to do […]

Preventing youth marijuana and alcohol use is a key to heroin epidemic

Tuesday, I was fortunate to have been invited by my friends at the Bangor Public Health Substance Abuse Task Force to a meeting they organized with Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Michael Botticelli.  This followed the drug strategy round table featuring Mr. Botticelli and called together by Senator Angus King.  While the round […]

Maine’s Heroin Crisis: Solution Not as Simple as Enforcement vs. Treatment

The past week has seen some much-needed wall to wall coverage of the heroin crisis across most major Maine media outlets.  The most recent headlines have been around the recent rash of overdoses over the course of a 24 hours period in Portland.  This isn’t the first time we’ve seen that story.  There have been previous clusters of […]

A New Opportunity at Maine’s Disposal to Fight Rx Abuse

Late last month, the Supreme Court took (in)action on an item that could be a potential game changer in the fight to combat prescription drug abuse.  Specifically, the Supreme Court refused to hear a case brought to them challenging an ordinance in Alameda County, California that requires pharmaceutical companies pay for the disposal of unused […]

A Path to Wellness, Not a Jail Cell

This Friday at the State House, the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety will have a work session on LD 113, An Act to Reduce the Penalties for Certain Drug Offenses.  The bill is sponsored by Senator Roger Katz of Kennebec.  The bill, in part, looks to downgrade punishments associated with possession of heroin […]