PARIS — Oxford County Sheriff Wayne Gallant recently told a group of town administrators he had to change not only his way of thinking, but that of his deputies when dealing with the heroin epidemic after people continued to overdose and die. Now his department carries Narcan, a medicine that reverses the effects of an opioid […]
opiates
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine Opiate Collaborative report calls to expand health care
HALLOWELL — To fight Maine’s opiate crisis, the state should expand health care access and drug courts, better connect people to services and increase prosecution of out-of-state drug dealers, according to a report released Friday by a stakeholder group. The Maine Opiate Collaborative’s report aims to establish a comprehensive plan to fight opiates in the […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Should Maine allow medical marijuana for addiction treatment?
AUGUSTA — Maine could become the first state to add addiction to opioid prescriptions and illegal narcotics like heroin to its list of conditions that qualify for medical marijuana. Nearly 30 medical marijuana caregivers and patients told state regulators at a public hearing on Tuesday that marijuana eases the symptoms of opioid withdrawal and offers […]
Posted inMaine, Nation / World, New England, sj-web
Governors ask Congress to expand opiate treatment options
MONTPELIER, Vt. — The six New England governors are urging leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives to expand the types of medical practitioners who can prescribe drugs to treat opiate addiction. In a Tuesday letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan and minority leader Nancy Pelosi, the governors ask the House leaders to support the […]
Posted inMaine
State grants nearly 1,200 waivers to two-year methadone cap
AUGUSTA — A law that took effect Jan. 1, designed to save the state money by cutting MaineCare patients’ methadone treatments after two years, has so far resulted in 20 people losing coverage, according to early figures from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. So far, another 1,197 have received waivers to stay […]