YORK — State Rep. Patricia Hymanson said she believes a comprehensive approach is necessary to stop the opioid epidemic in Maine, where an average of more than one person a day is overdosing on illegal and pharmaceutical grade opioids.
Hymanson, D-York, will introduce a bill in this second session of the 128th Maine Legislature to create a new position in the governor’s office to lead the charge to combat the addiction crisis statewide. Because there are no socioeconomic boundaries with this public health emergency, it has impacted many areas of state and local government, and Hymanson said it is imperative that someone have the responsibility to lead, collaborate and help organize all the agencies involved in addressing this problem.
“Information sharing between agencies is necessary for improved services. We need to know who is offering what services statewide. We need to enhance our public health systems with an organized approach, so we know how many doses of Narcan we use each month, who is providing top-notch services and who is not, among many, many other details,” said Hymanson, the chair of the House Health and Human Services Committee.
The bill, LD 105, would create one high-level post to spearhead the efforts already under way in many state agencies, including the departments of corrections, education, center for disease control, substance abuse and mental health services, health and human services, to boost the success rate of initiatives to reduce the occurrence of opioid use disorder, said Hymanson.
“This is not just a (health and human services) problem. It’s the judiciary, education and public safety, it reaches through many different departments and somebody has to be in charge of it all to coordinate it from the top,” she said.
Twelve other states have had or do have similar positions, often called the drug czar or drug policy coordinator of the state, according the National Governor’s Association research. In New Hampshire, Governor Chris Sununu last year named former Portsmouth interim Police Chief David Mara as his advisor on addiction and behavioral health. Sununu said at the time that Mara’s thirty years on the front lines of law enforcement have taught him the impact of drug misuse and the importance of solving our mental health crisis.
A similar recommendation for a drug czar was made in 2016 by the Maine Opiate Collaborative, which consisted of three groups, the Prevention and Harm Reduction Task Force, the Treatment Task Force and the Law Enforcement Task Force.
Each of the three provided detailed recommendations to improve all areas of the opioid crisis in Maine, including the creation of a Commissioner of Substance Use Reduction to lead all state agencies working on various factions of the problem.
Last month, another group, a legislative Task Force to Address the Opioid Crisis in Maine, completed its research and recommendations for stemming the tide of the drug crisis here. Among many recommendations, this latest Task Force recommends the state boost prevention efforts by educating teens on the dangers of opioids, increase access to state-of-the-art addiction treatment as well as adding more drug courts.
“Every day we hesitate literally means the death of another Mainer,” said House chair of the Task Force Rep. Joyce "Jay" McCreight, D-Harpswell. “From infants born drug-affected to jail cells filled with our neighbors in need of treatment, the statewide epidemic requires that we take action. Every aspect of Maine’s economy, community safety and family stability will continue to suffer if we do not make progress on increasing prevention efforts, expanding access to effective, affordable treatment, and addressing the underlying poverty and inequality that have delivered this crisis.”
The goal of this 19-member Task Force was for lawmakers and community experts to detail changes necessary statewide to stop the opioid crisis. More than a dozen bills are on the docket for this legislative session, including one to create a centralized hub-and-spoke treatment model aimed at offering those suffering from addiction medically assisted treatment to meet their changing needs over time and a bill to expand treatment to those serving time in state prison and local jails.
“The legislature has the opportunity to act decisively to combat this emergency. We cannot ignore its impact or disregard the underlying causes or the lack of access to needed treatment. Expecting people to pull themselves up by their boot straps just isn’t working. This is a complex problem requiring broad-based solutions,” said Rep. McCreight. “It’s time to recognize the extreme cost of this crisis, which can be measured in lives lost, families torn apart, a workforce gutted and an economy held back. It’s time to take action to help our neighbors get the help they need.”
The administration of Maine Gov. Paul LePage seems lukewarm to the proposal.
Its press office issued the following response regarding the creation of a drug czar position. "The Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHS) in DHHS is the lead agency for coordinating the state's response to the opioid crisis. Without commenting on a specific bill, in general the LePage administration is supportive of fewer layers of government so as to be more responsive to an issue and to direct more funds to service provision rather than administrative overhead."
According to the Maine Attorney General’s office, 185 Mainers died of a drug overdose in the first six months of 2017. In 2016, the total number of deaths was 376.