Maine Drug Rehab
Maine alcohol and drug rehab addiction treatment Information
Maine has experienced a significant increase in the availability of diverted pharmaceuticals. Oxycodone products, Percocet, Roxicet, and Oxycontin are readily available. In Washington County , including the city of Calais , Dilaudid is encountered frequently. Numerous instances of doctor-shopping rings, falsified prescriptions, and pharmacy robberies of OxyContin have been experienced in Lincoln County and the Portland area. In addition, there have been several instances of diverted Canadian pharmaceuticals being smuggled into Maine . The state legislature passed a law in 2003 that requires information about all transactions for Schedule II, III, and IV controlled substances dispensed in Maine to be reported to the state government. Pharmacies – both in and out of the state – submit data weekly. The data is then cleaned and added to a relational database. Using patients' names and birth dates, registered users of the database can log on to the web site at www.maine.gov/pmp to look up their patients online. Clinicians have immediate access to a patient's history with controlled substances freely available at their fingertips.
Marijuana, long the illicit drug of choice in Maine, is readily available throughout the state. Year-round indoor grows are the current trend in the state, but high-grade marijuana cultivated in Canada has been smuggled over the border. Hashish is available sporadically in small quantities; however, the popularity of hashish in Canada may eventually impact Maine. Traffickers have moved hashish and hash oil through Maine and into Canada . Commercial-grade marijuana is often obtained from middlemen in the southern New England states and New York . Predominantly Caucasian traffickers supply marijuana grown in Maine as well as shipped from the southwest border and Canada. Shipments ranging from 15 to 500 pounds typically enter the state via Interstate 95 in automobiles, campers, rental trucks, and tractor-trailers. Motorcycle groups historically have controlled much of the marijuana distribution in Maine, and these groups continue to use associates to distribute approximately 300 to 500 pounds monthly. Maine has a number of statutes related to marijuana possession, cultivation, trafficking, therapeutic research programs, paraphernalia, illegal importation, and asset forfeiture. These laws are often cited as the reason that Maine residents must travel to obtain their illicit drugs from out-of-state traffickers wary of the state's tough drug laws.
Heroin availability and use are increasing in the state, reflecting a trend noted throughout New England. The Bangor Police Department cites heroin as the primary drug threat in it's city, Maine's third largest. Authorities in Aroostook and Washington Counties in northern Maine are the only ones reporting negligible heroin use. However, law enforcement sources believe that could change as people in those counties currently paying $80 for an 80-milligram tablet of OxyContin discover that heroin use provides similar effects at a lower cost. The 29 percent jump in heroin treatment admissions in Maine during the first 9 months of 2008, and action taken by Acadia Hospital officials to obtain a state license to open the first methadone clinic in the city of Bangor are indicators of increasing heroin abuse. A 40 percent increase in Maine Drug Enforcement Agency heroin-related arrests and a 166 percent increase in heroin seizures in fiscal year 2008 are further indicators of the extent of the heroin threat in the state. Dominican criminal groups operating in Massachusetts are the primary suppliers of heroin in Maine. Independent, Caucasian dealers form the backbone of retail heroin operations in Maine.
Marijuana, long the illicit drug of choice in Maine, is readily available throughout the state. Year-round indoor grows are the current trend in the state, but high-grade marijuana cultivated in Canada has been smuggled over the border. Hashish is available sporadically in small quantities; however, the popularity of hashish in Canada may eventually impact Maine. Traffickers have moved hashish and hash oil through Maine and into Canada . Commercial-grade marijuana is often obtained from middlemen in the southern New England states and New York . Predominantly Caucasian traffickers supply marijuana grown in Maine as well as shipped from the southwest border and Canada. Shipments ranging from 15 to 500 pounds typically enter the state via Interstate 95 in automobiles, campers, rental trucks, and tractor-trailers. Motorcycle groups historically have controlled much of the marijuana distribution in Maine, and these groups continue to use associates to distribute approximately 300 to 500 pounds monthly. Maine has a number of statutes related to marijuana possession, cultivation, trafficking, therapeutic research programs, paraphernalia, illegal importation, and asset forfeiture. These laws are often cited as the reason that Maine residents must travel to obtain their illicit drugs from out-of-state traffickers wary of the state's tough drug laws.
Heroin availability and use are increasing in the state, reflecting a trend noted throughout New England. The Bangor Police Department cites heroin as the primary drug threat in it's city, Maine's third largest. Authorities in Aroostook and Washington Counties in northern Maine are the only ones reporting negligible heroin use. However, law enforcement sources believe that could change as people in those counties currently paying $80 for an 80-milligram tablet of OxyContin discover that heroin use provides similar effects at a lower cost. The 29 percent jump in heroin treatment admissions in Maine during the first 9 months of 2008, and action taken by Acadia Hospital officials to obtain a state license to open the first methadone clinic in the city of Bangor are indicators of increasing heroin abuse. A 40 percent increase in Maine Drug Enforcement Agency heroin-related arrests and a 166 percent increase in heroin seizures in fiscal year 2008 are further indicators of the extent of the heroin threat in the state. Dominican criminal groups operating in Massachusetts are the primary suppliers of heroin in Maine. Independent, Caucasian dealers form the backbone of retail heroin operations in Maine.
