Governor Janet Mills

AUDIO – POWERFUL WOMAN –

Aug. 8, 2024 – Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening. At my Sixth Annual Opioid Summit in Auburn, I gave an update on my Administration’s actions to prevent drug use and help people suffering from substance use disorder recover. I told them how last year, drug overdose deaths declined by 16 percent in Maine, the first time in five years of an annual decrease. My Administration is doing all we can, reasonably and responsibly, to stop drugs from reaching Maine; to prevent substance use disorder at an early age; to treat it when we can’t prevent it; and to set people on a lifelong path to recovery–above all else, to save lives.

Over the past year, we’ve established prevention programs in 78 middle schools to keep young adults from starting down what can be an all too easy path of addiction.

We’ve been working hard to get lethal drugs off the streets, to identify new drugs like xylazine, that are leading to fatal overdoses, and to distribute overdose reversal medication like naloxone as widely as possible.

We’re working with local governments to expand emergency housing to keep people off the streets and to create more permanent housing for people with chronic substance use disorder.

We’re increasing access to treatment at county jails and state prisons both, and we’re increasing the total number of treatment beds statewide, and launching crisis receiving centers to serve as anchors in communities for substance use disorder and mental health services. Now, I know there’s a perception that there aren’t enough beds available for treatment in Maine. I want to be clear: things are changing. New beds are coming online every day. Please, I encourage anyone who needs help: ask for it.