FREEPORT, ME – In keynote remarks delivered at the Maine Association of Psychiatric Physicians (MAPP) Annual Meeting in Freeport today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) emphasized the importance of working together to fight Maine’s opioid and heroin epidemic and how Maine’s medical community is a central part of a comprehensive response to curbing the ongoing crisis.‎

            “We all recognize the urgency of addressing the opioid crisis here in Maine, and to do that, we have to employ an all-hands-on-deck strategy that brings together medical professionals, law enforcement, and families fighting this epidemic to harness their collective expertise and experience to make Maine stronger,” Senator King said. “Maine’s psychiatric physicians have an important role to play, and I commend MAPP for focusing their annual meeting on ways to limit and treat substance abuse.”

Senator King’s remarks, entitled, “Combating Maine’s Opioid Epidemic: A Discussion about Curbing the Drug Crisis”, also provided an overview of the federal landscape on substance abuse disorders, focused on his findings from the four roundtables he has held across the state, and outlined what additional steps Congress can take to tackle the epidemic. According to the Maine Attorney General, 272 people in Maine died last year as a result of drug overdoses and the vast majority of those deaths were caused by heroin, fentanyl or prescription opioids.

In order to better understand the opioid epidemic and work towards possible solutions, Senator King has convened four roundtable discussions – in Brewer, Portland, Bangor, and Paris – that have brought together local leaders, prevention and treatment experts, law enforcement officials, first responders, health care providers, people in recovery, and families affected by addiction. These difficult but productive discussions have helped inform Senator King’s work as Congress continues to look for common ground on ways to combat the opioid crisis across the country.‎

In March, the Senate overwhelmingly passed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), legislation that will provide for a community-based response to heroin and opioid addiction. Though Senator King supported the legislation, he also cautioned that, by failing to include $600 million in emergency funding, the legislation does not go far enough in funding treatment, prevention, and enforcement efforts. Senator King continues to advocate for the emergency funding legislation introduced by Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H), which would dedicate $600 million to the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery.‎

Additionally, Senator King has introduced several other pieces of legislation aimed at helping to tackle the opioid crisis. Following his roundtable at the Hope House treatment facility in Bangor, Senator King introduced a bill, the Medicaid Coverage for Addiction Recovery Expansion (Medicaid CARE) Act, that would allow facilities like Hope House to treat more patients by raising an outdated cap on the number of treatment beds they can have. Senator King has also joined with Senator Shelly Moore Capito (R-W.V.) on the Cradle Act, bipartisan legislation that would improve care for babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) from exposure to opioids during pregnancy.‎

In several speeches on the Senate floor, Senator King has highlighted the terrible toll that heroin and opioid addiction continue to take in Maine. In March, he urged his colleagues to heed the story of Maine’s Garrett Brown, a young man who tragically lost his battle with addiction, and who bravely allowed his journey to be chronicled by the Bangor Daily News in the hope that it would educate others about the dangers of addiction. In May, Senator King will participate in an event hosted by the BDN focusing on ways we all can work together to fight addiction.

Today’s keynote remarks came in the middle of MAPP’s day-long annual meeting focused specifically on what psychiatry and primary care physicians need to know about substance abuse disorders. For more information about the even, click HERE.

Later today, Senator King will also speak in Brewer to the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine about the future of Maine’s forest economy during their 21^st Annual Meeting.

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