However, they said those numbers pale in comparison to how

Maine lawmakers in special session finally respond to opioid crisis

moncler outlet online AUGUSTA After two years moncler outlet of virtually no progress, the most recent session of the Legislature finally produced what treatment advocates regard as meaningful responses to Maine epidemic of opioid abuse. moncler outlet online

moncler outlet Three new laws moved forward earlier this month, despite veto attempts by Republican Gov. Paul LePage. moncler outlet

cheap moncler coats The first funds the creation of a so called $6.6 million initiative to align treatment and recovery programs to ensure that fewer people who need help slip through the cracks or relapse without intervention. cheap moncler coats

moncler sale outlet The money in the legislation helps pay for medication assisted treatment such as methadone and Suboxone for the uninsured, who are the most likely to lack access to treatment. Some 400 to 500 people will gain assistance. moncler sale outlet

Also approved over LePage veto was a $75,000 needle exchange program, part of a harm reduction strategy that is meant not only to help stop the spread of infectious diseases such as hepatitis C and HIV, but also to create new access points for entry to moncler outlet online treatment and recovery programs.

moncler outlet jackets The moncler sale Legislature also approved funding for an expansion of the state drug court, which steers offenders into treatment programs and now operates in five of the 16 counties. moncler outlet jackets

cheap moncler much happier with this immediate past session than I was a year ago definitely, said Malory Shaughnessy, executive director of the Alliance for Addiction and Mental Health Services in Maine. we have farther to go? Definitely. alliance includes 35 state licensed substance use disorder and mental monlcer down jackets health treatment agencies that serve about 90,000 clients each year. It was one of dozens of organizations and individuals that have been pushing for legislative action.”Lost: Heroin’s killer grip on Maine’s people” cheap moncler

Shaughnessy; Rep. Jay McCreight, D Harpswell, who co chaired a special legislative task force on the opioid crisis; and others acknowledged that the legislation could help hundreds of people each year. However, they said those numbers pale in comparison to how many people could be helped if Medicaid is expanded.

moncler sale LePage is currently appealing a Kennebec County Superior Court order that he submit an expansion plan to the federal government, which would make another 70,000 to 80,000 people eligible for health insurance. LePage argues that the state does not have the money to cover its share of the expansion, estimated at between $30 million and $60 million annually. moncler sale

moncler outlet uk expansion is the big one, moncler outlet McCreight said. would save a lot of lives and not just for opioids. state largest needle exchange https://www.monclerdownjacket.biz program in Portland and run by the city distributes and collects 180,000 syringes each year. The exchange also distributed 3,000 doses of the overdose antidote naloxone in 2017. Those doses were used to save buy moncler jackets 275 lives, according to legislative testimony from Zoe Odlin Platz, Portland community health promotion specialist. moncler outlet uk

proper disposal for used needles, access to testing for HIV, hepatitis C and STDs, referrals and support cheap moncler jackets help to build foundations of trust, she told lawmakers in January. trust can come positive change like recovery. his veto letter on the needle exchange bill, LePage wrote, do not believe it is the government responsibility to ensure that we provide the safest possible path for a person to participate in dangerous, destructive and deadly behavior. said he was working with the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to it a priority to invest in evidence based treatment options that will produce the best outcomes for individuals dealing with addiction. in the debate on the needle exchange override vote, lawmakers pointed out that the cost of treating one case of hepatitis C can easily exceed $80,000 more than the total appropriation for the exchange program.

Rep. Karen Vachon, R Scarborough, a sponsor of both the hub and spoke bill and the needle moncler sale outlet exchange bill, said she has faced resistance from her more conservative colleagues but that mindsets in the Legislature are steadily changing.

cheap moncler jackets sale people are cheap moncler outlet dying, you are always thinking, gosh, we are not moncler outlet store doing enough? Vachon said. is what we are doing even right? Is it working? And can we possibly be doing more? But we have made some progress. drug court bill provides access to treatment for defendants who have either pleaded guilty or been found guilty of serious offenses that were drug or alcohol related. Once admitted to the court, participants are required to meet with the presiding judicial officer every week and maintain regular contact with their case managers and probation officers. cheap moncler jackets sale

They must also maintain a job, attend school or perform community service; maintain stable and sober housing; undergo frequent and random drug and alcohol tests; and participate in treatment or self help groups. In place since 2001, the courts have proved to help dramatically lower the recidivism rates and enhance the chance for recovery.

moncler jacket sale Leigh Saufley, chief justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, proposed the drug court expansion, with LePage support, in an address to the Legislature in February. moncler jacket sale

moncler outlet store After 376 Mainers died from drug overdoses in 2016, the Legislature grappled with policy solutions to stem the tide of addiction and death, but ultimately failed to produce any substantial solutions. The few laws it did cheap moncler sale manage to pass, including one that made the overdose antidote naloxone available without a prescription, were either stalled or delayed by LePage administration and in 2017 Maine set a new grim record for opioid overdose deaths at 418. moncler outlet store

In the last few weeks, lawmakers, acting largely on bills that were recommendations from a special legislative task force on the crisis, have made more progress than they did in the previous two years.

Shaughnessy, the director of the association moncler mens jackets of treatment providers, said there are concerns that the LePage administration will not move quickly to put policies in place for laws enacted in the recent session.

cheap moncler outlet LePage managed to delay the law expanding access to naloxone for nearly two years by using administrative means to slow down the rulemaking process before the Board of Pharmacy. cheap moncler outlet

a travesty, what we have seen, Shaughnessy said. by the provider community and efforts by the recovery community and efforts by moncler outlet sale the Legislature to push things through, to get pieces pulled together to provide more coverage, to provide more treatment, to provide more recovery resources, and we seen the administration just stymie it in every direction. the Harpswell lawmaker who chaired the opioid task force, said no new legislation is likely on the drug crisis before next year, when a newly elected Legislature is cheap moncler coats seated.

moncler jackets outlet She said the task force, now disbanded, focused on the three pillars of prevention, treatment and law enforcement, and made recommendations to the various legislative committees of jurisdiction. Those panels voted out a number of bills, but many that were passed on the floor of the Legislature ended with vetoes from LePage. moncler jackets outlet

moncler outlet sale that passed in special session was because of an override of the veto, McCreight said. because we didn get everything, we are missing some important pieces of that comprehensive approach. Piecemeal isn going to give us the results that we need to really address the epidemic. said one of the best results of the task force is that it helped lawmakers and others involved gain a better understanding of substance use disorders, and that changing attitudes and helping build support. moncler outlet sale

people understand the brain mechanics, they understand we are talking about a disease process, or certainly a biosocial, psychological issue and it not a moral failing, she said.

Vachon, the Republican legislator, agrees that education and building understanding are key to gaining the political support needed to advance the programs that will make the biggest difference in Maine. She is now trying to organize an tour to help politicians in Maine get a better and deeper understanding of the depth of the crisis and its complexity.

She offers an example of one young man in recovery who spent time meeting with lawmakers, including some key Republican leaders, and she credits him with changing hearts and minds.

cheap moncler jackets medicated assisted therapy, people can get back to work and get their life back on track, and if you look at this young man you can see that, Vachon said. lot of times, people think of people with substance use disorders as junkies in the alley, and it way more than that cheap moncler jackets.