SANFORD — As Maine reels from the effects of the opioid drug epidemic, and overall drug overdose deaths already exceeding 2015 levels, some local agencies are stepping up to show folks how to properly administer Narcan.

Narcan is the brand name for naloxone, the drug that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.

Strategies for a Stronger Sanford, Sanford Police Department, Grace Street Services and St. George’s Episcopal Church are coming together to host free Narcan training at the church, at 3 Emerson St., from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday.

“Narcan is easy to administer and there are absolutely no side effects,” said Police Chief Thomas Connolly. “If you give Narcan to a person who is not overdosing on opioids, there will be no consequences (other than a nose full of Narcan).”

While not all overdose deaths in Maine are attributed to opioids, there were 286 drug deaths statewide from January through the end of September, said Maine Attorney General Janet Mills.

With three months to go to the end of the  year, the overdose deaths in the first nine months of the year exceeded the 2015 total of 272 by 14.

“The dramatic increase is mainly due to illicitly manufactured (non-pharmaceutical) fentanyl and fentanyl analogs, although the number of deaths due to other drugs is also increasing,” said Mills in a statement issued Monday.

Mills said Maine needs an “all hands on deck” approach to combat the epidemic.

She said her office is working with law enforcement to stop trafficking, but said the state must also decrease demand.

“Maine must expand access to detox beds and long-term treatment so that people in the grips of addiction can find hope and live productive lives,” Mills said.

In Sanford, treatment programs have been elusive, with a methadone clinic closing in the summer  of 2015, just 18 months after it opened.

Since then, Grace Street Services, a Lewiston-based recovery initiative, has started an intensive outpatient program and the city’s police department, in partnership with Maine Behavioral Health, has won a state grant to provide recovery services.

“We’ve found that in the last couple of years, we’ve struggled to get treatment in the community,” said Nichole Ivey of the Drug Free Communities initiative of Strategies for a Stronger Sanford. “We are trying to get treatment and recovery ready. We’re working to bring prevention, intervention, interdiction, treatment and recovery.”

The Maine Legislature this spring overrode a veto by Gov. Paul LePage of a bill that allows people to obtain naloxone at a pharmacy without a prescription.

As well as training, Saturday’s event will include recovery speakers, an art show and free dinner, according to Strategies for a Stronger Sanford.

“Every opportunity for someone to potentially save a life should be supported,” Police Chief Connolly said.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].