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Maine’s rural lifestyle might seem to guarantee a place where kids can grow up safely, far from urban blights like drugs, but statistics show Maine has a high rate of prescription drug abuse.
“Prescription and illicit drug abuse is killing Mainers at an alarming rate,” Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe said in a report on drug death data released in late 2002.
The report highlights that abuse of prescription drugs and heroin has led to a five-fold increase in the number of accidental overdose deaths in Maine since 1997.
In 2002, there were more than 160 drug-related deaths in Maine. Of these, 106 were accidental, according to the report. In contrast, the medical data for 1997 shows that only 19 Mainers died from accidental drug overdoses.
Illegally obtained methadone and OxyContin are two reasons for the dramatic increase in rates of substance abuse, according to the attorney general’s report. OxyContin, the trade name for Oxycodone, is a synthetic opiate that depresses the central nervous system. It is a narcotic intended for use by cancer patients or those with chronic pain. Methadone is prescribed to treat heroin addiction as well as pain.
Mainers are trying these powerful drugs at ever-younger ages. The 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse found that 10.9 percent of 12 to 17-year-olds reported illicit use of a psychotherapeutic substance at least once during their lifetime.
The report also showed that young, single men were most likely to die from accidental drug overdoses in Maine. Of those people, 55 percent had a history of mental illness, including depression.
Travis Erickson, coordinator of Substance Abuse Prevention Services at the University of Maine, discussed the ominous statistics.
“I think that the most important thing to realize on our college campus is that most students are not using drugs,” Erickson said. “But, the consequences of drug use are certainly very real. That’s why we’re here, to promote diligence and awareness in our community.”
Erickson’s office plans to have a pre-spring break information session to alert students to drug and alcohol risks before they head off to beer-drenched weeks of partying down south.
“We’ll be tabling, giving information to RAs and starting a dialogue on FirstClass,” he said.
When asked about what the university can do about prescription drug abuse, Erickson said communication is key to solving the problem.
“Substance abuse needs to be talked about more and more,” he said. “And if it’s discussed, it will be on people’s minds, and needless tragedies like accidental overdose can be avoided in the future.”
