Drug overdoses have declined each year in Maine since 2022, according to official statistics.
opioid epidemic
Posted inCommunity, News
Auburn weighs how to spend thousands of dollars in opioid settlement funds
The city has received $660,000 in the last several years from opioid lawsuit settlement payouts.
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Posted inHealth, Maine, News
Maine towns are sitting on hundreds of thousands of dollars for addiction treatment
4 years after settlement money started arriving, some recovery centers face funding cliffs as towns and counties deliberate — or in some cases hardly pay attention to — millions in unspent funds.
Posted inHealth, Maine, News
Maine governments have spent less than 15% of their opioid settlement funds
Towns and counties across the state cumulatively have received nearly $22 million from the settlements. Just $3 million of that has been spent so far, according to data released this week.
Posted inHealth, Maine, News, Schools & Education
UNE launching effort to train medical workers on addiction treatment for rural Mainers
A 4-year, $1.6 million grant will allow the university to expand programs designed to equip health care providers to respond to the ongoing opioid crisis.
Posted inHealth, Maine, News
Overlooked during opioid crisis, more of Maine’s oldest began to struggle with drugs
The number of Medicare patients who received buprenorphine treatment for their addiction to opioids increased about 70% between 2019 and 2023, a Maine Monitor analysis shows for the first time.
Posted inMaine, News
Auburn Council votes for moratorium on needle exchange programs
Officials supported a 6-month moratorium, but it won’t take effect until a second vote in September.
Posted inHealth, Lewiston-Auburn, Maine, News
Lewiston council delays vote on needle exchange ordinance
The decision came after a lengthy debate and testimony from service providers, recovery advocates and business owners about whether needle exchange programs should be regulated locally.
Posted inHealth, Maine, News
Overdose deaths declined in Maine last year, but not as sharply as the U.S. overall
Data released this week by the U.S. CDC showed a 27% decrease in drug deaths nationwide from 2023 to 2024. Fatal overdoses in Maine dropped by 20%.
Posted inHealth, Lewiston-Auburn, Maine, News
Lewiston takes aim at mounting needle waste
As some officials call for limitations on needle exchange programs, advocates say changes would harm public health.