Police departments, churches, health care institutions and municipalities recognize the need to invest in a remedy to the opioid crisis. Slowly, even the government is coming around.

Here’s why: • Women use substances differently than men, and can become addicted while using smaller amounts of certain drugs for less time. • Sex hormones can make women more sensitive than men to the effects of some drugs. Women may have more drug cravings and may be more likely to relapse after treatment. • Women who use […]

With fewer institutional resources and a greater biological threat, women entangled in the opioid epidemic must overcome gender-specific hurdles to recovery, including child-care considerations, social pressures and stigma often complicated by the specter of sexual trauma.

But a few people – worried about heroin’s impact on the local economy, the fishery and the addicts themselves – believe it’s time to speak out.

Maine lobstermen are plagued by opioid addiction, leading to deaths, ruined lives and even fishing violations to pay for the habit. Some in recovery also recognize the challenge: Getting help to an intensely independent breed that rarely asks for it.

The father of Sam Stevens lets his son’s addiction go public, signaling that an insidious threat lurks within the Machias community.