Franklin County has taken an important first step in the drug addiction forum held the other night. Our next task is to bring together those in the treatment community to assess and mobilize resources so this becomes a coordinated community effort.
Resources are tight and need to be ramped up and used efficiently. I have been providing opiate addiction treatment for about six years and my waiting list for treatment remains at least as full as it was back at the beginning, and this is probably true for other providers as well.
We have a serious problem which is getting worse. Across the country but especially in the northeast opiate addiction is worsening. Hardest hit are rural areas, and Maine has among the highest usage rates in the nation. The causes are multiple but high on the list are limited and perhaps worsening economic opportunity along with scarce treatment resources.
The good news is that we have developed good data and science on treatment. First, opiate addiction is a chronic disease and must be treated as such. The use of addictive drugs including opiates and alcohol permanently alters brain chemistry to increase the risk and severity of depression and impair decision-making and planning skills.
Opiate drug users tend to be impulsive and have difficulty handling emotions, and this feeds their cycle of use. Because these brain changes are both biochemical and structural they are long term and treatment must be correspondingly long term. For this reason, too, a pure abstinence-only approach has a high failure rate. The highest rates of success come from appropriate counseling paired with what is called Medication Assisted Treatment.
In the 40 years since President George HW Bush first called for a war on drugs we have spent $1 trillion but accomplished little besides filling up prisons with nonviolent offenders.
The strenuous and militant calls for tougher enforcement we hear from Augusta might sound and feel good but will only lead to a waste in precious resources unless matched with real support for the treatment that works.
Steve Bien, MD
Farmington
Science is data…
Faith in God to heal is a fact.
Argue about what works all you want…
Spend Gazillions of $$ gathering data..
It doesn’t change the facts.
We need God in our lives.
Data is “interesting”… But
Obviously you know nothing about addiction. It is a disease and needs to be treated as such. I don’t believe anyone is looking at spending a “gazillion” $$ gathering information. We need to look no further than the history of addiction.
Steve,
Thank you for your insight and continue your much needed care.
This is an important commentary. Thoughtful and succinct, accurate and compassionate. Thank you very much Steve.
Doc,
If the medical community wants to treat addicts for free, please be my guest. However passionate the plea Maine taxpayers should not be paying the bill. You gloss over the fact that addicts arent victims, they are felons that break our laws and endanger our families.
Dear Elected Officials,
Isn’t now the time for more of you to join this discussion? There will always be some people who think that prayer heals all wounds. More distressing, there will always be others like “Peter” so interested in placing blame that they will deny the basic scientific fact that heroin addiction is a crippling problem that cannot be solved without essential medical and counseling services being made more available.
I recognize that comments made here will not change the world in and of themselves, but isn’t it incumbent upon more of the responsible citizens in our community to weigh in on this issue? We should not be playing the blame game with this terrible problem. And we should be supporting the important efforts of Dr. Bien and other medical care providers and counselors in any way we can. Including by pressuring our elected officials to provide more resources to try to combat this terrible problem.
Trust Hammers (doctors who provide treatment to druggies, and lawyers who defend druggies) to see all druggies as Nails (potential clients).
If it were legal that would certainly solve a lot of the issues.
People have addictive behavior even before they start using. The blame is on the user. It is a choice.
But it becomes an issue for the public and how to deal with it is the problem.
Detox facilities would be the first step. The problem I see so much of now is that facilities have to be high tech, state of the art, fully staffed. The price tag is way too high. Like a lot of the jails.
The thing about heroin is it really isn’t the drug that will kill you most of the time, it is the lifestyle.
But you are right Woody, it needs to be discussed. And Peter is also right, the cost can not exceed our pocketbooks.
Woody,
We are responsible, fair minded taxpaying citizens. I take exception to your condensing tone because we pay the bills in this liberal utopia and we have a right to object to waste. Drug deducts choose their poison, it’s their personal choice. You know all about choice right? Taxpayers don’t force them to be users, they take it upon themselves. Taxpayers should not be responsible for their treatment nor should we coddle these addicts or their dealers. Dealers and users have invaded our community. They are a clearly defined threat to our community and our families. Do you want this act around your family or in your kids school? No sane and reasonable citizen wants this in their community. I say lock up the users and charge the dealers with multiple counts of attempted murder.
Lefties want gun dealers and manufacturers severely punished for gun crimes committed by a few of their customers (who may be drunks, druggies, or nutjobs), but they want to give druggies a big hug?
Woody..
You wrote. “There will always be some people who think that prayer heals all wounds” .. in the context that it is distressing that they believe that. (as if it is getting in the way).
Sorry but I have to ask you..Who has a closed mind here?
Most treatment programs even promote a “higher power” concept.
I know you are a successful lawyer and civically involved..thank you for that.
But I find that part of your comment ignorant and closed minded.
Just because it might not fit “your idea”…its not a conflict.
Donna… you obviously don’t know me.
I am a very thankful “ex”drug addict.
If it upsets you when I say I was healed..get over it. It happened.
To the current addicts..if a program is working for ya keep at it…if not then” LOOK UP ” !!
Faith and prayer have healed millions…with many more to come.
Thank God.
Any behavior or treatment method that is cost-justified and works is a good one, whether it is based on Faith, treatment, rehabilitation, or incarceration, so long as the public interest and safety are protected..
Re the question about Faith:
Time, Space, and Matter could not have created themselves, leaving only one logical alternative. It’s just that easy. There are none so blind as those who will not see.
Of all the #$%&^……. Our community is not being “invaded” by dealers and addicts. Some do come from away, but most were born and raised here in Maine. They may be our neighbors, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. Treat them as such. Treat them with the rule of law, the science of medicine and the compassion of friends and family.
Use the best of science to help escape from the addiction, and compassion when in the legal system. The cost of treatment and appropriate incarceration my be high, but the cost of not treating will be higher.
Thinking,
Don’t think we are being invaded, look at the mug shots of the dealers that get popped in Waterville, Portland and on the turnpike, hate to tell you but they aren’t from these parts. They come here to sell poison to our weak willed and clueless. They sell death.
Think, Heroin does not come from Maine but drug users do and both the dealers and the users do it by choice not by any influence by or through our government. Thus government and by default the taxpayers are not responsible for their treatment or any cost incurred by same. These users aren’t victims. They are pleasure seeks that is why they do opiates, they like it. When our kids need braces who pays, that’s right we pay for it. Got kids in college, you pay for it. These are choices we make for our families, our responsibility not society’s. Drug users are on their own dime for treatment and taxpayers should not be picking up the tab for their foolishness. You should think about this perspective.
I’d like to say thanks to the ones who are trying to help..
Dr Bien
Woody Hanstein
Gov LePage
Chief Peck
The Prayer Warrior
Quite a crowd huh….
Who has nothing to gain?
Thank you to them.
Harm?
I think you misread my comment… I never said I was upset about anything?
I have been acquainted with several ex-drug addicts and I commend your recovery.
My issue is lack of resources for the help that’s needed for those battling addiction, and the people who don’t want to waste taxpayers money to help with recovery but prefer them being incarcerated in jails or prisons. That’s wicked smart!
Again, Congrats on your recovery
I wonder about those who oppose spending money to help people lift themselves out of addiction. As if they were saying, those people are no good, they are breaking the law, forget them. How about grandparents or greatgrandparents occasionally drinking during prohibition? They were breaking the law.
Regarding those who object to the cost to taxpayers, does no-one in their family smoke cigarettes today in spite of the life threatening risk to themselves and children, as well as the “cost to the tax payers” for cancer treatments?
Granted, there are manipulators and unscrupulous operators in the drug distribution business. But some people get caught and used and blackmailed. A man on parole may be forced to deal again because his little sister in Colombia is threatened with rape and murder.
Can we try to see it is not black and white, it is all shades of gray.
Drug treatment is fine , if the abuser wants to truly get over the addiction, but most of the people I know just go for other kinds of drugs. That’s what I dislike. They need to pay their way in some way even if it means volunteering.I may be wrong but that’s my opinion.
Throughout these discussions I’ve read many comments chastising Peter for his lack of empathy but not one comment asking him why he has such a strong opinion. You demand understanding from him but show none in return. Do as I say not as I do? I’m not saying I agree or disagree with Peter, I’m just saying understanding is a door that swings both ways, or at least it should.
Amanda…
No need to ask Peter anything
He is clear about why he feels the way he does about addicts
They cost him money.
He doesn’t like that.
Neither do I But I don’t share his ideology..
I think we should invest in them .
Peter: please be aware, it may be an invasion by heroin and other drugs, but the addicts and dealers often are our neighbors, below is from the Maine DEA fb page, shall we settle the spat,and agree the invasion is from within the state for the majority of the victims and dealers?
Brianna Parlin (24) of Rockland, Maine for Trafficking in Heroin and Crack Cocaine, Class B
Felichia Glidden (22) of Waldoboro, Maine for Trafficking in Crack Cocaine, Class B
Chris Knight (24) of Rockland, Maine for Felony Possession of Heroin, Class C and Violating Bail Conditions.
Harley Winchenbach (23) of Waldoboro, Maine for Aggravated Trafficking in Heroin, Class A and (2) arrest warrants for Unpaid Fines.
Sydni Barham (28) of Rockland, Maine for Trafficking in Heroin and Crack Cocaine, Class B.
Danny G. Taylor (27) of Sanford for Aggravated Trafficking in Heroin, Class A
Christine Butler (39) of Sanford for Aggravated Trafficking in Heroin, Class A
Zachary Adams (19) of Saco for Aggravated Trafficking in Heroin, Class A
Cole Goulet (19) of Biddeford for Aggravated Trafficking in Heroin, Class A
Jeffrey March (24) of Saco, Maine for Class A, Aggravated Trafficking in Heroin
Brandon Perry (23) of Scarborough, Maine for Class A, Aggravated Trafficking in Heroin
Peter..
I “get” what you are saying.
I often think the same thoughts as you have laid out here on the BD with your comments.
I do believe you paint with a broad brush though when you say all the addicts take drugs because they want to or they just plain enjoy it.
This is true only for a very small percentage.
It is NOT the party you describe.
Yes…every user is breaking the law so in your book….case and coffin lid closed.
Not in my book.
No…no one is tying them down and forcing them to use..
In your book that means they do this willfully.
Not that simple in my book.
I believe that good people can make bad choices.
They need a consequence but I disagree we just turn our back on them.
I get that you say we are only enabling them by helping them.
I agree that in many cases that is exactly correct..
Anytime you attempt to help someone…its going to cost something..time/money/both.
Its messy….its complicated…
Where does it all end you say….
I know the answer to that question…not in this life.
I do know that addicted people are not trash to be hailed off and thrown away out of site.
Your complaint centers around money. You feel like your tax money is being stolen from you to fund programs to help them.
I think its safe to assume you are not spending anything else on them (volunteer time etc).
Well..many of us feel that we want these programs and our elected officials make them happen.
Its called THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE
Its your right to complain 24/7…
Maybe some day our society will become cynical enough that you will prevail.
Not today…
We still have some compassion for suffering..including addicts who seem hell bent on destroying themselves..
Keep complaining…while we keep trying to help them.
Thank you for your contribution.
God Bless America.
Thank you Dr. Bien. Drug addiction is a medical issue, …and one that often leads to criminal behavior. I agree that this has to be a community effort and applaud every person who is standing up to do something about it, including the addicts who have sought out recovery. Let our our community be an example to other communities in our country. When we treat the problem (crime, disintegration of the family unit etc) without looking at the underlying symptoms (drug addiction, mental illness – and often these go hand in hand) we fight a losing battle. Prison, in my opinion, is not a good solution because what do we hope to accomplish by it? If we are looking for reformation, prison is a poor and expensive choice. Prison teaches prisoners how to be better criminals. In reading this article and some of the comments (from Woody Hanstein in particular) I found myself full of pride in our little part of the world and the efforts that have been made to improve it. I look forward to helping out in any way I can.
The enablers and excusers play little part in the solution, and a huge part in the problem. All drug dealers and any druggies who commit illegal acts to support their habits, destroy private property, or injure innocent people because of being under the influence, belong in prison. Public safety and property must be protected from irresponsible, dangerous people. The druggies medical treatment costs should be their responsibility to repay.
The FIRST purpose of a prison is as a place to put people who are a DANGER to the public until they are no longer dangerous. The SECOND purpose is to treat/educate/motivate the offenders to make them no longer a danger so that they can be released. If people aren’t a danger to the public, they don’t need to go to prison (remember, local judges and juries make that decision, based on evidence.) If people are a danger to themselves, they should be sent to mental health facilities.
This subject completely frustrates me. Addiction runs in my family so I am scared to death of becoming addicted to anything. I even quit smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee. So when I need to go to the doctors, I always ask for non narcotics to help with whatever it is that I may need. So my latest was a large kidney stone with a kidney infection. The ER gave me a shot of the non narcotic, along with an RX for it and a narcotic. The pharmacy filled both. They were small amounts just to get me through until I went to see my PCP. I used up my non narcotic pills and never touched the narcotics, so my PCP gave me a new RX for my non narcotic pills to get me through until surgery. Guess what? The insurance wouldn’t allow the pharmacy to fill it. Later I got a call saying my RX was ready, when I picked it up, it was more narcotics. I had my surgery and they gave me new RX’s. Guess what? They would only fill the narcotics. So here I am with three bottles of narcotics that I don’t want and can’t take anyway because they make me so sick. I ended up in the ER and doctors office to get the shot of non narcotics to help with the pain more than once. Why on earth my insurance company will push as many narcotics as I want on me but won’t give me the non narcotic that works better for me, doesn’t make me sick and is not addictive? This is a big part of the problem right here. I am advocating for myself not to get narcotics but they make it so hard. I could have very easily taken all of these pills and probably became addicted, but I didn’t. Not many people can handle that kind of temptation, especially if they are a recovering addict. Luckily I am scared of my own shadow so I wanted nothing to do with them.
IMO- Maine needs to join with a few other rural states and file suit against the federal guberment for dereliction of duty by the DEA/FDA and whatever alphabet agency is supposed to be guarding our ports/borders this week.
Change the state drug laws (the fed would not like this- but they have continually screwed over the states in this regard).
Addiction should not be criminalized but Criminal acts should be- IE: if someone breaks into your home and robs you, Do you care if there a Heroin Addict, an Alcoholic or just wanted some pizza money? Of course not- you want the criminal act prosecuted.
The fact that there is SO MUCH HERION making its way into the US, That Rural Maine where there is not a lot of $$ to be spent on drugs has a heroin issues is sickening meanwhile the pharma companies push the same poison at unprecedented levels.
You cant 100% stop drugs from coming in- BUT you better believe that the amounts coming into this country have to be staggering for it to ever reach rural areas.
“Arnold P.
February 14, 2016 • 8:51 am
1) The FIRST purpose of a prison is as a place to put people who are a DANGER to the public until they are no longer dangerous.
2) The SECOND purpose is to treat/educate/motivate the offenders to make them no longer a danger so that they can be released.
3) If people aren’t a danger to the public, they don’t need to go to prison (remember, local judges and juries make that decision, based on evidence.) If people are a danger to themselves, they should be sent to mental health facilities.”
Arnold,
1) Do you see the danger in the idea of locking up non-violent drug offenders with rapists, murderers, and truly sick people?
2) The drug problem is just as bad in prison as it is outside…sending an addict to prison is akin to locking your chicken in a foxes den to keep them safe. (BTW- only prison staff could supply the amounts were talking about, If you cant win the war on drugs in a prison Where in gods name can you?)
3) Most drug cases, Users and Dealers but mainly the users- NEVER go to trial. They accept a plea offered by the prosecutor while being threatened with mandatory minimums.
And lastly- State prisons and local jails. Excluding federal prisoners. In October 2013, the incarceration rate of the United States of America was the highest in the world, at 716 per 100,000 of the national population.
Angela,
You stumbled upon a huge part of this problem, The coming generations of heroin addicts is people who their own drs and hospitals got hooked on opiates. Take a look at this below- and/or Google lawsuits against big pharma opiates.
The active ingredient behind the drug, oxycodone, isn’t new. The compound was originally synthesized in Germany in 1916. The patent on the medication had expired well before Purdue Pharma, a Stamford, Connecticut-based pharmaceutical company and the industry leader in pain medication, released it under the brand name in 1996. The genius of Purdue’s continued foray into pain-management medication – they had already produced versions of hydromorphone, oxycodone, fentanyl, codeine, and hydrocodone – was twofold. They not only created a drug from an already readily available compound, but they were able to essentially re-patent the active ingredient by introducing a time-release element. Prior to the 1990s, strong opioid medications were not routinely given for miscellaneous or chronic, moderately painful conditions; the strongest classes of drugs were often reserved for the dying. But Purdue parlayed their time-release system not only into the patent for OxyContin. They also went on a PR blitz, claiming their drug was unique because of the time-release element and implied that it was so difficult to abuse that the risk of addiction was “under 1%.”
To cement the brand’s reputation among doctors, Purdue conducted more than 40 national pain-management and speaker-training conferences at resorts in Florida, Arizona, and California between 1996 and 2001. They invited over 5,000 physicians, pharmacists, and nurses to these all-expenses-paid symposia. Many were recruited and trained for Purdue’s national speaker bureau. Purdue offered starter coupons offering a free 7-30 day trial of their medication, a practice that’s common among pharmaceutical companies for everything from skincare medicine to contraceptives. OxyContin became an instant hit among doctors, many of whom saw it as a wonder drug in the battle against the debilitating effects of chronic pain. As the good news spread sales of the drug mushroomed, rising from $40 million in 1996 to more than $1 billion in 2001, outstripping even Viagra. Meanwhile, Purdue’s campaign to extend the use of powerful narcotics to ordinary chronic ailments – for which the drug has been well documented to help – proved highly successful. By 2003, over half of the OxyContin prescriptions written in the United States were written by a primary care physician.
Small correction to the original Letter-
In the 40 years since President George HW Bush first called for a war on drugs we have spent $1 trillion but accomplished little besides filling up prisons with nonviolent offenders.
40 years puts me at 1976? I believe HW was head of CIA at the time, I assume you meant Nixon in 1971 which makes 45 years.
However it was the presidency of Ronald Reagan that marked the start of a long period of skyrocketing rates of incarceration, largely thanks to his unprecedented expansion of the drug war. The number of people behind bars for nonviolent drug law offenses increased from 50,000 in 1980 to over 400,000 by 1997.
By 1988 George W. Bush arrived in the White House as the drug war was running out of steam – yet he allocated more money than ever to it. His drug czar, John Walters, zealously focused on marijuana and launched a major campaign to promote student drug testing. While rates of illicit drug use remained constant, overdose fatalities rose rapidly.
The era of George W. Bush witnessed the rapid escalation of the militarization of domestic drug law enforcement. By the end of Bush’s term, there were about 40,000 paramilitary-style SWAT raids on Americans every year – mostly for nonviolent drug law offenses, often misdemeanors. While federal reform mostly stalled under Bush, state-level reforms finally began to slow the growth of the drug war.
So just to recap- 1trillion dollars has bought us this…
More Americans locked up
More Drugs
More Citizens (both innocent and not) and LEOs hurt and/or killed trying to enforce these laws
Anyone whose idea it is to Double down on this idiotic approach is well…Idiotic.