Maine may look peaceful and quiet at first glance, but don’t let it fool you. It struggles with its share of drug problems, and these illegal substances are readily available. The state is situated right on the New England Pipeline, a major drug smuggling route out of Canada. It ranks in the top ten states for many things, some of which we’ll go over here.

Many people in Maine don’t think of alcohol or marijuana as a risk, and that attitude is contributing to the rise in admission to Maine’s drug and alcohol centers. However, these aren’t the only things that Maine has to deal with. A report released in April of 2009 says that fourteen percent of adults aged 18-25 have abused prescription medicine, with only 3% of adults over 25 abusing these drugs. Most admissions for prescription drug misuse are because of opiates like Oxycontin and Percocet, and opiate issues account for twenty-four percent of all admissions to drug rehabilitation centers in Maine.

Substance Abuse Trends in Maine

Maine Office of Substance Abuse

Community Epidemiology Surveillance Network

April 2009

The rise in the recreational use of prescription medicines is what’s making Maine’s drug abuse rate above the national average. This problem crosses age, race, and socioeconomic lines, and prescription drugs are abused partly because they are so widely available. Seniors can end up unintentionally taking too much, and teens can get these drugs at parties, clubs, and even out of their home medicine cabinets.

To fight the epidemic, Maine brought their total of drug and alcohol treatment centers to 191 between the years 2002 and 2006. Of those, almost half are privately run, for-profit, and a like number are private and not for profit. The remaining few are publicly run. Those that need help for drug abuse in Maine have plenty of choices, but they should keep in mind that all facilities aren’t created the same. Most offer services on an outpatient basis, and that may not be enough for someone who has a really severe addiction. These people may need a residential program, of which there are 27 in Maine. Other centers and hospitals offer some services on an inpatient basis, but these are rare.

Only seven of Maine’s rehab centers offered a opioid treatment program in 2006, and there were seventy-one doctors that were licensed in the distribution of buprenorphine. Opiate abuse is hard to treat because of the addictive nature of these drugs, and anyone looking for this kind of help may have to go a little further to find it.

As thirty-three percent of Maine’s young adults binge drink and 68% of those admitted to drug and alcohol centers in Maine are under the age of twenty nine, it’s evident that the state’s population is at risk. People should learn more about the signs of drug and alcohol abuse, and if they see them in someone they know, they should get help as soon as possible.

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