AUGUSTA — Doctors and mental health professionals said a proposal by Gov. Paul LePage to stop state payments for methadone treatment for opiate addicts receiving Medicaid benefits would result in dramatic and likely tragic consequences. The proposal, part of LePage’s $6.57 billion, two-year state budget plan, would instead require addicts to be treated with Suboxone […]
addiction
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine communities to get $7.5 million to fight addiction
BANGOR — The nation’s drug czar says 19 Maine communities will share $7.5 million over the next five years to fight drug abuse. Michael Botticelli, acting director of the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, made the announcement as he traveled to Bangor, where he’s leading a town hall forum on opioid abuse […]
advertisement
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine physicians topped nation for writing opioid prescriptions
Learn About Tableau Health care providers in Maine wrote prescriptions for a commonly abused type of painkiller at the highest rate in the nation in 2012, according to a new federal report that found wide variations in prescribing patterns across the U.S. State officials noted that since then, the number of Mainers in treatment for […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Rising meth use takes toll on addicts, law enforcement
BANGOR — Hitting rock bottom is something longtime Bangor resident Jessica Shaw, a recovering drug addict once hooked on methamphetamine, has done more than once. “I lost everything. Literally everything. Basically what it boils down to is me sitting in a house with my shades drawn, all my curtains drawn, the lights all off and […]
Posted inMaine, New England, sj-web
New England states fight drug abuse in different ways
AUGUSTA (AP) — In the rural towns and cities of northern New England, a rising drug-abuse problem is overwhelming law enforcement, affecting hundreds of infants each year and sparking calls to action by state leaders who say enough is enough. How to attack the scourge, though, takes on different forms. “We must confront a troubling […]
Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Oxford Hills
Behavioral health workers gather to learn about gambling addiction
NORWAY — Treatment and support options for Mainers struggling with a gambling problem have expanded in recent years, and new state rules may help more people break away from an addiction to gambling. A handful of representatives from local social work, behavioral health and faith organizations gathered in a conference room at Stephens Memorial Hospital […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, sj-web
Lewiston man making his way back from addiction
LEWISTON — One day in June, Kenji Yamauchi stole $1,000 from his mother and bought just more than a gram of heroin — enough, he thought, to kill himself. Only six months before, the 24-year-old had been clean for several months, determined and hopeful about his future as he told the Bangor Daily News of his […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
It’s not known how effectively casinos promote responsible gambling
BANGOR — A moustachioed, beret-wearing lobster named “Clawd” is touring Bangor this week alongside his bilingual handler dressed like a chef to promote responsible gambling. Meanwhile, the state doesn’t know how big a problem irresponsible gambling is, according to the person responsible for overseeing the state’s addiction prevention efforts. Hollywood Casino’s weeklong lobster promotion is […]
Posted inMaine
State grants nearly 1,200 waivers to two-year methadone cap
AUGUSTA — A law that took effect Jan. 1, designed to save the state money by cutting MaineCare patients’ methadone treatments after two years, has so far resulted in 20 people losing coverage, according to early figures from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. So far, another 1,197 have received waivers to stay […]