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Collins: Solving Drug Crisis Requires Broad Approach

WASHINGTON - Maine Sen. Susan Collins today told members of the Senate's Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions that Maine is not immune to the growing problem of drug abuse.

"In the month of July alone, the city of Portland had 14 suspected heroin overdoses, including two deaths in one day," Collins said.

Collins' remarks were delivered during a committee hearing on the nation's drug crisis. Expert witnesses testified that solving the crisis requires a broad approach, including law enforcement, treatment and education.

Collins cited a program in Gloucester, Massachusetts, that helps addicts get treatment if they turn in their drugs, and said that might be part of the solution in Maine.

 

Journalist Mal Leary spearheads Maine Public's news coverage of politics and government and is based at the State House.