Gov. Paul LePage is again turning his focus to the opioid epidemic.
LePage and the other New England governors are gathering at Harvard Medical School to discuss what’s being done to fight the region’s addiction crisis. In at least two states — Maine and Massachusetts — lawmakers have enacted strict new limits on opioid prescriptions, an initiative for which LePage said Maine is taking the lead.
“We have cut prescription opiates here in Maine over the past couple of years by 40 percent,” said LePage this morning during his weekly radio appearance on WVOM. “The protocol set up by the CDC is really working. The next step is to find a way to get the illicit drug off the streets.”
LePage, who two months ago said he was frustrated enough with what he calls slow progress on fighting drugs that he’s “done with drugs, period,” had a softer tone this morning.
“The New England governors are taking it very seriously and we’re all meeting together to find common ground to move in one direction,” said LePage. “It’s all about you learn as you go to deal with this major problem.”
Asked about how Maine confronts drug dealers from outside Maine, LePage said the state needs to enact harsher penalties.
“Believe it or not, other state governors are saying our laws are too lax,” said LePage. “They don’t like sending them to Maine because they get out too soon.”
LePage suggested that he is interested in holding other states financially responsible when their citizens are incarcerated in Maine for dealing drugs.
“That’s the next issue, is who’s paying,” he said.
LePage also reiterated his stance against increasing availability of life-saving anti-overdose medications such as Narcan. This year, the Legislature made it legal for pharmacists to dispense Narcan to friends and families of drug addicts despite a veto of the bill by LePage.
“What the Legislature has done is put Narcan in the pockets of every person in the state,” said LePage today. “Do you realize when you do drug busts now you get Narcan? You can work with someone and give them a hand up and do it one time, but you an count on a relapse. … When you get to the third time there comes a point when enough is enough.”
LePage said the responsibility for kicking an addiction falls on the addict.
“Until they’re ready, you’re wasting a lot of time and a lot of money,” he said.
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