Education campaign on opiates under way

BANGOR- Eastern Mainers looking for more information on the troubling problem of opiate abuse and addiction have a new resource. The Close to Home campaign, launched on Wednesday by The Acadia Hospital and a number of local and regional partners, aims to educate and support individuals, families, schools, health care providers and others who are confronted with the issue on a daily basis.

Over the course of the two-year campaign, area residents can expect to encounter television and radio messages, community education sessions and informational posters and brochures. The campaign’s new Web site features links to treatment and prevention resources as well as studies, news reports and other information. Visitors to the site can sign up for an e-mail newsletter, download posters and fliers, and challenge their knowledge with the site’s Question of the Week.

Maine’s opiate addiction problem has emerged quickly, from nearly nonexistent in the mid-1990s to among the highest per capita addiction rates of any state in the nation, according to Dottie Hill, Acadia president and CEO. Most Maine users are between 18 and 25 years of age, she said Wednesday, meaning the work force is heavily affected. And addiction is growing quickly among young women, affecting their parenting ability as well as the health of their infants and children.

“This problem will affect every aspect of our society for years to come,” Hill said Wednesday.

Hill said doctors’ prescribing practices are a significant source of illicit prescription drugs, because doctors too readily prescribe powerful painkillers that are then misused. One goal of the campaign is to work with health providers to rein in heavy-handed prescribing.

Penobscot County Sheriff Glenn Ross said the opiate addiction problem is having a profound effect on the county jail, with up to 10 percent of inmates going through withdrawal when they’re incarcerated. As many as 90 percent of inmates have some sort of mental illness, Ross estimated, and self-medicate to relieve their symptoms.

Ross praised the collaborative nature of the campaign. “This isn’t a problem any of us can solve alone,” he said.

Shawn Yardley, director of the city’s health and welfare office, said the new campaign will dovetail with another new project the city is part of – a countywide underage drinking prevention program funded through the state’s Office of Substance Abuse. Yardley said collaboration between agencies and organizations is a more effective model for public health projects.

“We want to be part of the program, not own the program,” he said.

Close to Home partners include a number of regional health care providers, social service agencies, state offices and media outlets, including the Bangor Daily News.

Visit the Close to Home Web site at www.closetohomecampaign.org