Carrie Smith's recent letter, "Stop methadone funds" (BDN, Nov. 28), inspired me to write. I think the methadone program is the worst program that the state of Maine funds. I wonder how many people are aware that participants are allowed to test positive for pot and still receive methadone. Instead of lowering doses they increase it when the addict requests it. There is no cutoff point, it is all left up to the addict. Why are we paying for this? They all seemed to find the money to buy drugs before they went on the methadone. The addicts should be made to work and pay for their drug or do community service. If this is a legitimate program there should be a timeframe like all other drug programs. Sarah Brown Veazie [end]
Temple Of Advanced Enlightenment Seeks Religious Exemption From DEA BANGOR, Maine - Every Tuesday and Sunday afternoon the living room in the Rev. Kevin Loring's apartment becomes a tiny house of worship. The head of the 3-year-old Temple of Advanced Enlightenment earlier this week stood next to a round table as five others sat on sofas and chairs pushed back against the walls. They formed an uneven circle in the second-floor walk-up. "We use music as a form of prayer," Loring, 28, told them as the service began. "It helps us to see a little bit more clearly." [continues 1039 words]
Apparently, the Ten Commandments, Golden Rule and Seven Deadly Sins weren't enough. Earlier this month the Roman Catholic Church upped the stakes by issuing its list of Seven Social Sins. And it's not about social failings such as wearing white after Labor Day or telling your sister her new baby is ugly. These sins, courtesy of the Vatican, are the new measures of the morality of our society. Way overdue, some might say. The sins environmental pollution, genetic manipulation, excessive wealth, inflicting poverty, drug trafficking and abuse, morally debatable experiments and violation of the fundamental rights of human nature sound more like they were lifted from a Ralph Nader speech than from Sister Mary Catherine's Catechism class. [continues 362 words]
While reading the Bangor Daily News' Jan. 23 front page story "Smuggler given life sentence," I tried to think of all the people I have met who have used marijuana. I couldn't; there are too many. So instead I found myself trying to understand the rationale for condemning a man to life in prison for selling a plant, but I couldn't do that, either. According to a 1998 report by the Maine Task Force on Drug Abuse, approximately 95,000 Maine adults routinely use marijuana. The report also estimated that 65 percent of adults ages 26 to 34 and 55 percent ages 35 to 50 report using marijuana at least once in their lifetime. By now the 26- to 34-year-olds are in the 35 to 50 age group, likely increasing the overall percentage of people in Maine who have used marijuana, assuming the rate of marijuana users has stayed constant over the last 10 years. [continues 398 words]
When I came to Maine in 1969, I volunteered to teach some enrichment classes at the women's prison in Skowhegan. There were seven or eight prisoners housed in a farmhouse outside the town. Two years later, the women were moved to a new facility in Hallowell. There the windows were barred, but still the place had the look of a college dormitory. Within five years, however, the number of prisoners had exceeded the facility's limited capacity of 50, and the women were moved to the Maine State prison in Windham. [continues 228 words]
AUGUSTA - Maine voters approved the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes in 1999 by 61 percent to 39 percent. But supporters told lawmakers Monday that the law has not worked and urged passage of a new bill that would assure they have access to the drug. The proposal elicited strong opposition from the Maine State Police and the Maine Attorney General's Office, as well as from other groups. The bill's sponsor, Sen. Ethan Strimling, D-Portland, noted it has been eight years since the original measure was passed. [continues 604 words]
MACHIAS - You snooze, you lose - especially when you're allegedly carrying 80 bags of heroin. That's what happened to a 38-year-old Springfield, Mass., man who awoke on the bus Monday to find himself staring at a blue uniform and a gold shield. West Bus Service travels from Bangor to Calais every day. [Name redacted] appeared Wednesday in Washington County Superior Court in Machias. He was charged with aggravated unlawful furnishing of scheduled drugs, unlawful furnishing of scheduled drugs and two counts of unlawful possession of scheduled drugs. [continues 297 words]
In AA they say that a person can only get clean and sober once they hit rock bottom. Well, I can't imagine being any lower than the situation I am in right now. I am at the bottom of the darkest well known to man - prison. I haven't disclosed my name because I am ashamed of my actions and of how my life has turned out. How did this happen -- family trouble? No, that isn't it. No mother or father? No, I have two very loving biological parents and I had a fantastic childhood. Some sort of abuse, then? Absolutely not -- well, I guess that wouldn't be totally true, because I put a lot of effort into abusing myself and everyone who ever cared about me. [continues 663 words]
Add a new name to the list of mind-altering drugs readily available in Maine. Salvia divinorum, a potent hallucinogen closely related to an ornamental plant commonly grown in Maine herb and flower gardens, is for sale at smoke shops throughout the state. It's not illegal, but Maine lawmakers in the coming session will take up a proposal to ban or regulate it. A bill proposed by Rep. Chris Barstow, D-Gorham, seeks control over the use, sale or possession of the plant. [continues 670 words]
CHERRYFIELD - Discovery House, a for-profit drug treatment center based in Rhode Island, plans to locate a new outpatient drug treatment center just one-fifth of a mile from Cherryfield Elementary School. There is no state regulation that prevents the licensing of a substance abuse treatment facility located near a school or day care center. The building that Discovery House intends to purchase and turn into a facility for dispensing methadone is located along Route 182. From that parking lot to the school at 85 School St., the driving distance is 0.2 mile. [continues 932 words]
A new report from the University of New Hampshire concludes that, despite a widely reported surge in the use of the illegal stimulant drug methamphetamine and the continued abuse of other drugs, alcohol remains the leading substance abuse problem in rural areas of the United States. The study has policy implications for the design and funding of rural treatment programs. In Maine, where methamphetamine has yet to surface as a major problem, the abuse of prescription drugs such as OxyContin, Xanax and methadone is still on the rise, while heroin, cocaine and other illegal substances continue to make their way into the state. But according to treatment data from the Maine Office of Substance Abuse, alcohol abuse outstrips them all. [continues 705 words]
"I think that Houlton has a serious drug problem - and it has been overlooked, big time." That sobering statement from a recovering drug addict Monday evening slammed home the concerns of many in Houlton and surrounding communities, concerns also illustrated by the standing-room-only crowd at a two-hour town meeting on substance abuse. Hundreds crowded into the Temple Theatre for the forum titled "Taking Back Our Communities from Drugs." Those who attended the event sponsored by the Link for Hope Coalition lined the walls and crowded the balcony once seats in the two cinemas had been filled. [continues 608 words]
The value of the 2006 Maine Kids Count data book, released last week by the Maine Children's Alliance, is found primarily neither in its statewide numbers nor in this year's edition. But by examining the county-level information and looking across several years of data, these annual check-ups show patterns of conditions and behaviors that, in turn, make sound policy possible and inspire Maine to not just talk about problems but help solve them. Or celebrate improving trends. Smoking, alcohol and marijuana use are down, so are teen pregnancies while the number of high-school graduates who intend to go to post-secondary school is up. Compared with national average, Maine's children do fairly well, on average. But there are exceptions within the state. [continues 276 words]
Penalties Higher For Possessing, Selling Illegal Paraphernalia In Certain Sections NEWPORT - A decade ago, Maine's schools and grounds were designated drug-free zones, areas where drug dealers would face significantly higher punishments if caught and convicted. The idea has been so successful, said police Chief Leonard Macdaid, that Newport is expanding those safe zones to include town parks, athletic fields, and other areas where children gather. "The idea is to make the punishment more severe and deter this type of drug activity from these areas," Macdaid told selectmen on Wednesday night. [continues 306 words]
There is a middle ground between drug prohibition and blanket legalization. Switzerland's heroin maintenance trials have been shown to reduce disease, death and crime among chronic users. Addicts would not be sharing needles if not for zero-tolerance laws that restrict access to clean syringes, nor would they be committing crimes if not for artificially inflated black-market prices. Heroin maintenance pilot projects are under way in Canada, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. If expanded, prescription heroin maintenance would deprive organized crime of a core client base. This would render illegal heroin trafficking unprofitable and spare future generations addiction. [continues 115 words]
I am a 38-year-old woman from Bangor. I am a recovering addict, just restarting my life. I've been clean for a year, and it's the hardest thing I've ever done. I want teenagers and people of all ages to know that if you think using drugs is fun now, it won't be fun for long. I'm concerned with the recent "Finding a Fix" column in favor of legalizing some drugs. If you are out there thinking that drugs should be legalized, drugs have definitely blinded your judgement. Drugs took everything I loved from me and changed who I really was for a long time. [continues 584 words]
State Officials Alarmed by Grisly '05 Statistics AUGUSTA - Grisly and somber statistics released by state officials Wednesday indicate that last year for the first time in modern Maine history, drug-related deaths outnumbered motor vehicle casualties. Preliminary figures show there were 178 drug-related deaths in Maine in 2005 while 168 people died in motor vehicle accidents in the state. As the grim statistics were revealed during a press conference, Gov. John Baldacci took aim at the Bush White House, saying it continued to turn its back on the suffering of Maine families. He noted that federal funding to the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency has been cut by 40 percent. [continues 512 words]
LINCOLN - Four town areas popular with youth will be named "Safe Zones" if residents of those areas OK the idea. The Town Council voted 4-1 Monday night to tentatively approve naming Prince Thomas Park, Ballard Hill Community Center, the Washington Street playground, and the Little League fields behind Hannaford as Safe Zones. The next step, Town Manager Glenn Aho said, is for police Chief Hank Dusenbery to contact residents who live within 1,000 feet of those areas to hold a community meeting to allow them to voice their opinions on the plan. [continues 265 words]
HOULTON - In coming weeks, town officials plan to erect a sign spelling out tougher charges for drug dealers convicted of peddling within 1,000 feet of Community Park. The park, containing a children's playground, skate park and athletic fields, has been declared a "safe zone" under state law. In recent months, town councilors voted unanimously to designate Community Park a "safe zone" in response to state legislation enacted during the first regular session and the first special session. The law enables a municipality to designate athletic fields, parks, playgrounds or recreational facilities as "safe zones." Houlton Police Chief Daniel Soucy urged the council to proclaim the park a safe zone. He told councilors that an informational sign, with wording approved by the commissioner of public safety, would have to be erected in the Park. [end]
I am currently incarcerated at the Aroostook County Jail. I am being held on the charge of possession of scheduled drugs, a Class C felony. At the age of 13, I began smoking marijuana and drinking occasionally. I was hanging around with older people, mostly men, and putting myself in situations that no young teen should be in. At 15, I got pregnant with my first daughter and stopped my drug use completely. Soon after she was born, though, I started using opiates. It wasn't long before I was hooked. I started to forget what was really important in my life. [continues 816 words]
