The strips can make users aware that the deadly opioid is present in drugs they are taking so they can take precautions.
opioid epidemic
Phish guitarist to found substance abuse treatment center
Trey Anastasio, who has been sober for 14 years, plans to start the center in Vermont, where the band was formed in 1983
Our View: Lessons learned from fighting COVID can help combat Maine’s overdose epidemic
One lesson is understanding that government can’t do it all. There has to be a communitywide commitment to understanding the disease.
Maine overdose deaths set new record in 2020, and 2021 started even worse
Drug overdose deaths surged in January, with 58 confirmed or suspected fatal overdoses, the highest monthly figure in at least a year.
Maine prisons will expand treatment for opioid use disorder
The state prisons will provide access to medication-assisted treatment for all inmates who need it, something advocates have long pushed the state to do.
McKinsey agrees to pay nearly $600 million for its role in opioid crisis
The payments are earmarked for abating the raging overdose and addiction crisis that has deepened during the coronavirus pandemic.
Maine Voices: Stop ruining hearts – reinstate harm reduction now
Portland’s recently instituted one-for-one needle policy is putting people at risk of a deadly and preventable cardiac infection.
Police investigate 6 fatal overdoses in Sebago Lake region
Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce says 4 of the fatal overdoses since Dec. 1 occurred in Standish.
Maine recovery coalition makes decriminalizing drug possession a legislative priority
Rep. Anne Perry, a Democrat from Calais, is sponsoring a bill to make possession a civil offense, not a crime.
Portland stands by strict rules for needle exchange despite warnings of higher risk
The city’s health and human services director says the program has maintained access to clean syringes without relaxing its exchange rules, but public health experts say the more restrictive approach can put people at risk during the pandemic.