As Overdose Deaths Continue to Rise, Broad Coalition Demands Practical, Systemic Changes
Release of First Quarter Data from the Attorney General鈥檚 Office Shows Alarming Uptick in Overdose Deaths
MAINE 鈥� Following that drug overdose deaths have dramatically increased over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, members of the Maine Coalition for Sensible Drug Policy call on Maine officials to revisit policy recommendations that will save and improve the lives of Mainers who use drugs.
鈥淭he shocking rate of drug overdoses in Maine remains a public health crisis, and that is the policy approach we need to take if we want to reduce overdose deaths,鈥� said Meagan Sway, policy counsel for the 老澳门开奖结果 of Maine. 鈥淣ow more than ever, we see how concentrating almost all of our state鈥檚 resources into incarceration and criminalization for drug use has exacerbated the crisis and wasted resources. These resources could have been effectively spent housing and supporting individuals who use drugs to keep them safe."
In January of 2019, the Coalition released a with a series of intended to serve as a policy map for supporting people who use drugs, their families, and our communities. Recommendations include:
- 鈥淒ecriminalize possession of all drugs鈥�.Eliminate the permissible inference of trafficking or furnishing based solely on the weight or amount of a substance possessed by the accused and add intent as an element of the crimes of trafficking and furnishing.鈥� This proposal was introduced in the 129th Legislature through .
- Fund and sanction the establishment of in major metropolitan areas throughout Maine.
- Increase access to housing for people in all stages of recovery, including people who are actively using drugs, people in short-term recovery and people who are pregnant or parenting.
Other recommendations from the Coalition鈥檚 report can be found .
鈥淲hile the state has taken tremendous strides to strengthen harm reduction and recovery resources, we cannot continue to criminalize the people we claim to help and support. We cannot punish people into recovery,鈥� said Whitney Parrish, Advocacy Director of the Health Equity Alliance, which is the convener of the Coalition. 鈥淧olicy makers and the Mills administration need to stop criminalizing overdoses and stop their unwillingness to look at systemic responses. Instead, they should champion life-saving proposals, such as safe injection sites. The data make that clear."
