PORTLAND (AP) — A Portland program intended to keep drug addicts out of jail is staying open after Gov. Paul LePage intervened to end a dispute between the Department of Corrections and court officials.
The dispute centered on how aggressively to enforce violations in Cumberland County Drug Court led to a freeze on new cases. Court officials were set to end the program as soon as the five remaining participants either graduated or went back to prison.
The Portland Press Herald reports that at LePage’s request, the acting commissioner of the Corrections Department reached out to court officials to end the dispute and vowed to dedicate a probation officer to work exclusively with addicts in the program.
A LePage spokeswoman says the governor thinks the court is important in fighting increasing drug addiction.
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