Medically Assisted Treatment a Priority in Maine

Governor Janet Mills of Maine is making access to medically assisted treatment (MAT) a priority in fighting the opioid crisis in her state. According to Fosters.com, the proposed initiatives include removing limits on Medicaid-funded methadone, buprenorphine, and naloxone, as well as making MAT available in Maine’s prisons.

Fosters.com quotes Kirsten Figeuroa, Mills’ finance chief, who states:

“Drug overdoses took 282 lives in Maine in just the first 9 months of 2018 — one overdose per day. Evidence is clear that medication-assisted treatment is a critical tool in fighting opioid addiction”.

Read the full article here.

WGME CBS 13 in Portland cites Gordon Smith, Director of Opioid Response, who clarifies that addiction is “medical” and not “criminal”:

“People with substance use disorders are ill, they’re not criminals. Almost all of them at some point in their journey have violated one or more laws, but primarily they’re ill.”

Read the rest of the story here.

Looking for doctors who administer buprenorphine in Maine? Click here.