CALAIS – A group is organizing in Washington County in an attempt to serve as the catalyst for a countywide effort to confront drug abuse, including possibly launching an outpatient substance abuse program.

The handful of people who gathered Monday night included medical providers, a substance abuse counselor, a business leader, a minister and people whose lives have been touched by the substance abuse problem. In recent years, Down East has seen a dramatic increase in the illegal use of prescription drugs.

Law enforcement officials believe that an increase in drug use – particularly prescription drugs – has caused an increase in crime, including break-ins and burglaries.

Several weeks ago, U.S. Attorney Jay McCloskey talked up a movement Down East to attack the problem. He said that although he could help identify the problem, it would be up to the people of Washington County to find the solutions.

That process may have begun with the Monday meeting. The new group hopes to seek state and federal money to finance an intensive outpatient treatment program. It chose Neighbors Against Drug Abuse as its name. Its mandate is to eliminate “mind-altering substance abuse” problems in Washington County.

The group Monday was told a comprehensive outpatient substance abuse program would cost upward of $5 million over three years. The program would include medical and mental health services and substance abuse counseling, as well as treatment, education and community outreach.

Nancy Green, certified nurse-midwife, said that during the past 18 months she has seen an increase in the number of pregnant women who have substance abuse problems.

She said the problem was exacerbated because there were no local treatment centers available to Washington County residents. Instead, she said, residents must travel long distances to get help and often find themselves alone and without their support system.

Anne Perry, nurse practitioner, said she was concerned about the increase in cases of hepatitis C in the area. “I’ve seen more of it here than I’ve seen anywhere else that I’ve worked,” she said. Hepatitis C can be passed on by sharing needles during intravenous drug use. “It’s not curable,” she said.

She said she had spoken with a state health official who told her the disease was a problem among young people. “It’s happening to younger and younger people, and they’re catching it early. Which means that what we are diagnosing is only a piece of the iceberg,” she said.

Pleasant Point Lt. Gov. Edward Bassett said he views the problem as countywide, and he assured the group that the Passamaquoddy Tribe stood ready to work with its neighbors to attack the problem.

Calais businessman Tom MacDonald said he attended the meeting because he wants to stop the problem early on among young people. He said he is committed to “changing the quality of life in the area and making Calais and the surrounding areas better places to live.”

Carrie McDonald, a substance abuse counselor, said she already had begun an intensive kindergarten through 12th-grade education program. McDonald said last week that school officials had recently conducted a surprise drug test at Calais High School. The tested students were selected from the nearly 130 students who participate in various activities. The school’s substance-abuse policy allows the school to randomly test students who participate in extracurricular activities.

“We had to do at least 10 percent and randomly as the [substance abuse] policy stated, so we cut up the names and put them in and drew 35 and that’s who got tested,” she said.

McDonald reported that none of the tests were positive. A minister, the Rev. Bob Hinton, wondered whether the group was deceiving itself.

He told the dozen people at the meeting to look around at how few were on hand. “The community has to be behind us. … If people really believe there is a problem, they’d be here tonight,” he said. “They don’t want to be here because they don’t see that there is a real problem in this community.”

Green said more people are ready to help. And Perry said she believes they need to start as a small group that later will serve as a catalyst for the rest of the county. The group created an executive committee that would seek nonprofit status for the group. It plans to establish a board of directors. The group also selected people to serve as liaisons with the police and community. Once the group has received nonprofit status, it can begin to apply for state and federal grants.

The members of the group agreed that it would be beneficial to work with the Washington County Technical College to develop a substance abuse treatment curriculum that would train substance abuse counselors.