Attorney General Mills announces new public education TV ad combating opioids

March 28, 2017

AUGUSTA ? Maine Attorney General Janet T. Mills announced today a new television ad warning of the link between prescription painkillers and heroin addiction. The ad is the latest in the ?Dose of Reality? public education campaign launched in 2016. The ad will be made available to Maine broadcasters through the Maine Association of Broadcasters? Public Education Partnership program over the coming months.

?Four out of five people who use heroin tell us that their substance abuse disorder began with a prescription painkiller,? said Attorney General Mills. ?The influx of heroin and fentanyl have turned Maine?s opioid problem into a deadly epidemic. This ad illustrates how quickly a person can descend down the path of addiction. As we work to stem the flow of illicit opioids into Maine, we must ensure that we reduce the number of opioid prescriptions and ensure that people properly dispose of unused painkillers.?

The new ad, entitled ?Path to Heroin,? can be viewed online at the www.doseofrealitymaine.org website. The ad begins with a locker room scene and two hockey players sharing a painkiller and ends showing one of the young men after having injected heroin. The Dose of Reality website has other public service messages and information about the proper disposal of prescription painkillers.

Attorney General Mills expressed her appreciation to Attorney General Brad Schimel of Wisconsin for making these materials available to Maine.

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