Director's Corner
Director's
Update - Spring 2006
Kimberly A. Johnson, Director
As the Maine Office of Substance Abuse (OSA) continues to work to expand
the availability of prevention and treatment services to all Maine residents,
new challenges continue to arise. One such challenge facing Maine, as
well as the rest of the nation, is methamphetamine abuse. Use of methamphetamine,
a stimulant commonly referred to as “meth,” has spread through
the country from west to east and it is now showing up in Maine.
Meth, a highly addictive drug is easily made by abusers. It can be made
at home, in cars or in motel rooms with ingredients that can be purchased
at any discount, drug or hardware store. These illegal meth labs are
toxic, explosive and devastating to communities. They usually require
hazardous waste cleanup, threatening the health of children living in
homes where meth is cooked and endangering the safety of neighbors.
On June 6, 2005, the Maine State Legislature passed a bill titled “An
Act to Prevent the Manufacturing of Methamphetamine in Maine,” which
as of November 1, 2005, placed restrictions on over-the-counter decongestant
cold medicines that contain pseudoephedrine, one of the key ingredients
in the making of methamphetamine. As part of the language of the law,
the Legislature charged OSA to establish an educational program, based
on the national effort known as “Meth Watch,” first begun
in Kansas. The Meth Watch program provides retailers, prevention specialists,
and law enforcement with the tools to work together to deter the theft
or suspicious sale of household products used in the manufacture of the
illegal street drug. Over the next few months we will be expanding the
Meth Watch section of the web page-watch for more information.
With the designation of National Problem Gambling Awareness Week, March
6-12, the state of Maine worked hard to raise awareness on the consequences
of problem gambling and the resources available for individuals whose
gambling is causing disruption in their lives. The efforts of this week
were geared toward enabling those affected by problem gambling to identify
the problem and access professional services that help minimize the consequences
of problem gambling. OSA envisions an environment in which treatment
of gambling problems is recognized as a specialized field of expertise
and professionals trained to assist problem gamblers are recognized for
their unique knowledge, skills and abilities.
The Office of Substance Abuse is working closely with the Maine Gambling
Control Board, which is under the Department of Public Safety, to ensure
that quality treatment will be available to Maine residents who need
assistance. OSA will be holding provider trainings this spring and is
creating a credentialing work group to review other states’ policies
to adopt a credentialing model that will work for Maine. For immediate
help with a gambling abuse issue, or to make a referral, contact the
National Council on Gambling at 1-800-522-4700.
This past summer, OSA was contacted by the Canadian Province of New
Brunswick regarding its Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP). After
assessing Maine’s program structure and function, two representatives
from the New Brunswick Health and Wellness department met with representatives
from OSA and GHS Data Management, the PMP contractor to discuss the alarming
trends of prescription drug abuse and how a PMP can be a helpful tool
in preventing abuse and diversion.
Following the awarding of the Co-occurring State Incentive Grant (COSIG),
a three-year federally funded project from the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) I am pleased to announce that
Claudia Bepko, an experienced mental health and addictions social worker
and family therapist, has been hired as the project coordinator. The
COSIG will be used specifically for building, delivering and sustaining
effective substance abuse treatment and mental health services to people
with co-occurring substance abuse and psychiatric disorders through needs
assessments, capacity building, strategic planning, evidence-based programming,
monitoring and evaluation of results. At the same time, it will fund
nine agency pilot sites to implement new co-occurring approaches over
the three-year course of the grant. With these dual disorders affecting
an estimated 10,000 people in Maine, Claudia’s work will be extremely
important in establishing the groundwork necessary to remove barriers
to integrated treatment.
OSA has launched a new initiative to increase treatment recruitment
and retention within existing funds. This initiative is based on a model
developed by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that trains substance
abuse treatment agencies to use business process improvement techniques
developed in the manufacturing industries to eliminate wasteful administrative
barriers that impede access to services and lead people to drop out of
treatment prematurely. OSA is working with a select group of substance
abuse treatment providers to improve treatment agency processes as well
as to identify non-value added administrative burdens created by government.
OSA may work with a national vendor to develop an electronic version
of the training and technical assistance that will allow all agencies
to learn these techniques within the next three years.
Thank you for visiting our website. Please email us at osa.ircosa.maine.gov if you need assistance accessing any information. We are here to make
Maine a healthier, safer place.
Previous Updates
What's New - Fall 2005
What's New - Summer 2005
What's New - Spring 2005
What's New - Winter 2005
What's New - Summer 2004
What's New - Spring 2004
What's New - August 2003
What's New - January 2003
What's New - August 2002
