After committee vote, Maine is one step closer to allowing harm reduction health centers

[RandySF]

In an effort to save lives amid Maine’s worsening overdose epidemic, a legislative committee earlier this week recommended passage of a bill to allow cities and towns to establish harm reduction health centers, which are sites where people can administer previously obtained drugs under medical supervision.

The bill, LD 1364, sponsored by Rep. Grayson Lookner (D-Portland), would permit municipalities to approve these types of harm reduction health centers if they choose to. Such sites would have to meet certain requirements, including that they provide hygienic facilities, safe disposal of hypodermic apparatuses, naloxone if needed, and make referrals to medical and social services.

The measure also stipulates that municipalities that approve harm reduction health centers must participate in a peer-reviewed study and mandates that the state’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) submit reports related to those studies to the legislature and the governor.

“LD 1364 seeks to give communities the power to decide if harm reduction health centers are the right approach for them,” Lookner said. “Harm reduction health centers save lives, provide avenues to treatment and recovery, and reduce public waste. The bottom line is that these centers will reduce opioid overdose deaths in our state.”

As Beacon previously reported, the idea behind harm reduction health centers is that they make drug use safer by providing people who use substances with medical supervision so they are less likely to overdose while also bringing them into a space where they can receive disease screenings and other health care services, as well as options to begin recovery. The centers can also enhance the health and safety of the community as a whole, proponents argue, by reducing improperly discarded syringes and public overdoses.




https://mainebeacon.com/after-committee-vote-maine-is-one-step-closer-to-allowing-harm-reduction-health-centers/

[sheshe2]

1. Wow.

Good for Maine. I hope this passes. It can save lives.

Good read, Randy…thank you.