ORAL TESTIMONY

Oral Testimony for the US Senate Government Affairs Committee Hearing in Bangor, Maine on August 6, 2003


Members of the Committee on Governmental Affairs, thank you for the opportunity to testify on the increasing abuse of prescription drugs in Hancock County, Maine. Alcohol and drug abuse, including opiate drugs and drug-related crimes, are not new to Southwest Harbor, Mount Desert Island(MDI), or Hancock County, but these problems have escalated exponentially over the last four or five years. By 1999 and 2000, many of us were becoming educated by the US Attorney in Bangor about the sudden increase in overdose deaths in Penobscot and Washington Counties. We learned about prescription narcotics being used as a supplement or substitute for heroin, and how they had given rise to an "industry" characterized by drug-related burglaries, "stealing and dealing", and "doctor shopping" to obtain prescriptions which were marketable by themselves. Particularly alarming were reports of overdose deaths occurring in individuals in their mid-20's, and addiction to both heroin and prescription narcotics being recognized in teenagers.

About that time, several Southwest Harbor businesses, including our pharmacy and one of our two medical clinics, experienced break-ins and attempted or successful burglaries that fit the picture of drug-related crimes. Similar occurrences in Bar Harbor and increasing concern about our adolescent population led to the formation of an MDI Task Force Education Committee in the Fall of 2000 followed by two Public Forums about heroin and narcotic abuse in our area. Unfortunately, by the Fall of 2001, it was clear that initial enthusiasm for the formation of a Task Force Against Drug Abuse on MDI had been short-lived.

Over the next year and a half, numerous arrests for possession of illicit drugs and or drug trafficking were made, and the local press provided many reports of escalating drug abuse state-wide and in our area. Most alarming, however, was the increased frequency with which members of the community found drug paraphernalia such as syringes and needles behind buildings, near "dumpsters", in the street, and on their private property. Despite reporting such occurrences and other "suspicious activities" to our local police, citizens became increasingly frustrated because they saw little change and the situation seemed to be getting worse. Thus, explanations that a five-man police force is not equipped to do surveillance or drug-related investigative work, and that the State only had three Drug Enforcement Agents covering the four counties in our area were of little comfort. Finally, a Southwest Harbor boat-builder and fisherman stood up at the Board of Selectman's meeting on May 7, 2003 holding a zip-lock plastic bag containing several syringes and needles found recently on his property, and demanded that something must be done.

On May 29 -- three weeks later -- 225 residents of MDI and neighboring communities gathered in Southwest Harbor with a panel of eight experts representing different professional disciplines to discuss drug abuse and drug trafficking. Emphasizing that there is no simple solution to these difficult problems, all panel members underscored the reality that only a multi-disciplinary approach including effective education, treatment, law enforcement, and prevention strategies is likely to make a significant difference. Nevertheless, residents were most outspoken about the immediate need for increased support from law enforcement. Consequently, the audience became increasingly frustrated with State law enforcement officials who repeatedly explained that there were insufficient funds and manpower to assign a Maine Drug Enforcement Agency(MDEA) agent to Hancock County in the foreseeable future.

Subsequently, discussions were held between local Police Departments, the Sheriff, the District Attorney, the Director of MDEA, and the County Commissioners. As a result, the Sheriff proposed formation of a county-wide Drug Enforcement Team -- the only one of its kind in the State -- to be made up of three officers from local police departments who would be trained by MDEA and assigned permanently as MDEA agents in Hancock County with authority to enforce anti-drug laws state-wide. The proposal was discussed at a Public Hearing in Ellsworth on July 22, and creates a real partnership between Hancock County and MDEA -- between the county's citizens and the State. The cost for this program is about $200,000 to hire three new police officers to replace the individuals assigned to the County Drug Enforcement Team. Although this means a further increase in county taxes, the proposal appeared to be supported by most of the individuals attending the hearing as well as by more than 200 residents of MDI and the Cranberry Isles.

This proposal to strengthen investigative law enforcement in our area is the first step in what we hope will be a powerful community response that effectively interrupts the flow of drugs through Southwest Harbor, Mount Desert Island, and neighboring communities in Hancock, Penobscot, and Washington Counties. However, multiple other initiatives are needed as well, particularly in the areas of education treatment, and prevention.

As is true of many rural states, Maine's resources for treatment of alcohol and opiate abuse are woefully inadequate. Currently, Hancock County has only one intensive out-patient treatment program, no emergency in-patient resources for opiate detoxification, and no residential in-patient treatment facility. Maine initiated its Adult Drug Treatment Court Program in 2001 in six jurisdictions, but not Hancock County. Nevertheless, we are hopeful that an Adult Drug Treatment Court will be established here in the near future. Finally, although long-term residential therapeutic communities similar in scope to the Day Top Program in Rhinebeck, N.Y. have also proven to be efficacious in the treatment of alcohol and opiate addiction, no such program exists in Maine or Northern New England. It should be noted, however, that the Maine Lighthouse Corporation in Bar Harbor is actively seeking to establish such a treatment facility. Perhaps even more important in the long-run will be the development of effective strategies focused on prevention. One such program is The Edge which is a combined educational and recreational program for children in Washington County during and after school hours that is operated by the Maine Sea Coast Mission in Bar Harbor. Other efforts are being initiated on MDI through a coalition sharing an Office of Substance Abuse Prevention Grant.

As you know, Maine has experienced a shocking increase in opiate overdose deaths in the last five years and most of these deaths were caused by prescription narcotics, especially in combination with anti-depressants and alcohol. Ten of the 256 overdose deaths occurring in the last two years involved residents of Hancock County, and one of the latter lived in Southwest Harbor. Tragically, a young Bar Harbor man died of such an overdose in May, as did a young Bangor man in June after being arrested and lapsing into coma in Ellsworth. Between July 10 and July 17, five burglaries occurred in Southwest Harbor fitting the picture of drug-related crimes, and a Swans Island couple was robbed, bound, and threatened by an individual who took $40 and a container of prescription drugs. Lastly, a Southwest Harbor couple was arrested on July 18 for heroin possession.

Previously, it was thought that such problems were encountered only in urban areas of the country. Clearly, they have engulfed the rural state of Maine as well, including Hancock County and Mount Desert Island. Accordingly, the following recommendations seem appropriate. Federal funding of programs that support education, treatment, law enforcement, and prevention efforts to combat alcohol abuse, illicit opiate abuse, and prescription drug abuse must be increased. Federal funding should also be provided to support a pilot study of Maine's recently enacted Prescription Drug Monitoring Bill(LD945). Federal legislation creating a national prescription drug monitoring system should be considered. Similarly, Federal legislation promoting the sharing of an international prescription drug monitoring system between the United States and Canada should be considered as well.

In closing, I would like to read a short passage from a letter in a local newspaper written by the parents of a young Hancock man who died of an overdose in May: "...We have seen that there are dangers that we, as a society, already protect our children and ourselves against. They include inexperienced drivers, impure water and air, and improper electrical wiring, to name only a few. We urge you, in your capacity as Hancock County Commissioners, to protect our children and the future of Hancock County from the pervasive, merciless problem of drug abuse by curtailing the easy availability of illicit drugs through increased law enforcement, as well as greater support for more intensive drug rehabilitation programs."

I want to thank the Kings publicly for giving me permission to share their plea with you as well. Thank you.

Respectfully submitted,
Richard C. Dimond, M.D.
5 August 2003