AUGUSTA - The Maine House of Representatives advanced legislation on Thursday sponsored by Rep. Grayson Lookner, D-Portland, which would authorize municipalities to approve harm reduction health centers, also referred to as safe consumption sites.
Harm reduction centers provide health screenings, disease prevention and recovery assistance services while also allowing people who use drugs to self-administer previously obtained controlled substances under monitored supervision.
"People who use opioids have a condition that requires evidence-based mental health and medical interventions," said Lookner. "Fortunately, such interventions exist, and we need to pursue them. For too long, the ongoing stigmatization of opioid use disorder has led Maine to criminalize people experiencing mental health crises. Tragically, too many of them never reemerge to find the crucial recovery services they need."
According to the Maine Drug Data Hub, during April 2023, there were an estimated 776 fatal and nonfatal drug overdoses statewide, of which 57 were suspected and confirmed fatal overdoses. Naloxone administered by both community members and law enforcement reversed 230 overdoses.
"In the recovery community, there is a regularly repeated phrase that the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results," said Lookner. "With this bill, we have the chance to pursue a proven method of saving lives and create opportunities for recovery."
The bill faces votes in the House and Senate in the coming days.
Lookner, who represents a portion of Portland, is serving his second term in the Maine House of Representatives and is a member of the Legislature's Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee and the Joint Select Committee on Housing.
Contact:
Brian Lee [Lookner], 305-965-2744