MEHRA UPDATE - Legislative Victory, Harm Reduction Conference and more!
Maine Harm Reduction Alliance
- Overdose Prevention Bill - Proclaiming Victory!!!
- Maine Harm Reduction Conference (May 14) - Register today!!!
- A Message from William McColl, Political Director of AIDS United, sign on to support lifting the federal ban on funding for syringe exchange
- 2014 and Beyond
Overdose Prevention Bill... Proclaiming Victory!!!
Yesterday, following a round of hectic negotiations both the Maine House of Representatives and the Maine Senate voted UNANIMOUSLY in support of LD 1686, the Overdose Prevention Bill introduced by Representative Sara Gideon of Freeport and championed by the Maine HarmReduction Alliance, the Drug Policy Alliance, the Maine ACLU and other advocates and allies throughout the state. Advocates like you.
This victory would not have been possible without the support and energy of champions like you throughout the state. Your calls, your emails, your letters and your passion for this issue made it important, made it a legislative priority.
This bill has the potential to save hundreds of lives over the course of the next few years alone by enabling persons at risk of a drug overdose, their family and first responders such as police and fire department officials to possess and administer naloxone. Naloxone, or narcan, is an overdose antidote, used to rescue persons in respiratory shock due to a drug overdose. It is safe, effective and easy to apply, with no street value and no potential for abuse.
With an average of 170 fatalities per year due to drug overdoses the passage of this bill is a major victory harm reductionists, drug policy critics and advocates for just plain common sense throughout Maine. While the struggle to pass LD 1686 was long and hard, and the bill as it stands is not quite complete, its unanimous passage is also a signal to the Governor that this issue is NOT something to play political games with.
While a major success and cause for great celebration, advocates were forced to make some concessions over threats of a veto in order to obtain the votes necessary to push the bill through. The current version of the bill does not technically allow for persons with substance use issues to administer the antidote to someone else in the event of a narcotics overdose. Third party distribution, a provision allowing for programs that provide services to persons who use drugs to distribute naloxone to those most at risk of an overdose, was also removed during the legislative process.
The Maine Harm Reduction Alliance is dedicated to seeing these provisions reintroduced with the help of our allies in the Legislature, as well as reintroducing Good Samaritan provisions that would enable persons using drugs to call 911 in the event of a medical emergency without fear of persecution.
Maine Harm Reduction Conference:
Registration for the Maine Harm Reduction Conference opened a little over a week ago. With 20 people registered already, and a maximum of 80 attendees, the conference is filling up quickly, so be sure to get your registration forms in soon! Forms and additional information on the conference canbe found here.
The conference will be held on Wednesday, May 14 at Kaplan University in Augusta, with registration starting at 8:30am.
This year's conference includes an exciting line-up of local and national presenters. This year's Keynote will be delivered by Jon Zibbell, PhD. A Health Scientist with the US Center for Disease Control, Division of Viral Hepatitis, Jon is a Medical Anthropologist that has studied persons who use injection drugs extensively. His keynote address will discuss culture, stigma, drug use behaviors and health outcomes including infectious disease. We will also be joined by... Jeronimo Saldana of the Drug Policy Alliance, presenting a workshop on Harm Reduction Policy and Advocacy; Eric Haram, of Midcoast Health Systems, discussing stigma and Building a Drug User Friendly Practice; and Dr. Richard Fein, of MaineGeneral, presenting on Topics/Highlights in Drug User Health.
The conference is free to persons with a history of injection drug use and $10 to all others. The fee covers continental breakfast, light snacks, lunch and as much coffee as you can drink. Suggested audiences include health care providers, public health and prevention practitioners, social workers and drug and alcohol counselors, policymakers and advocates and persons with a history of injection drug use. CEUs and CMEs have been applied for.
The 2014 Maine Harm Reduction Conference is sponsored by the Maine AIDS Education and Training Center and Discovery House.
For more information contact Kenney at (207) 667-3506, email ME...@downeastaidsnetwork.org or visit www.downeastaidsnetwork.org/mehra-sec
A Message From William McColl, Political Director of AIDS United:
I am writing to you on behalf of a coalition that is working to end the ban on the use of federal funds for syringe exchange. We are writing to you because your organizations signed on to a letter requesting that the Presidential Advisory Commission on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) endorse ending the federal ban on the use of syringe exchange. That letter was successful, ultimately resulting in an official statement by PACHA requesting the end of the ban. That letter is still PACHA’s official policy. We continue to appreciate your contributing to that effort.
In the meantime, we are hard at work on trying to change the Congress’s direction on this issue. To that end, we have written a letter (attached) specifically requesting the end of the federal ban that will be delivered to the Leaders of the House and Senate appropriations committees and the Labor, Health and Human, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittees directly responsible for the rider that creates the federal ban. Those committees will begin to hold hearings and markups soon and we would like the Members and their staff to be clearly aware of our opposition to the ban. We hope that you will consider signing on to the letter. To do so, please contact Michael Collins of Drug Policy Alliance.
Michael Collins | Policy Manager
Drug Policy Alliance
925 15th Street NW, 2nd Floor | Washington, DC 20005
Voice: 202.683.2981 | Fax: 202.216.0803 | Cell: 404.539.6437
www.drugpolicy.org
I do want to very quickly note that we continue to maintain the confidentiality of this sign-on list and have not and will not share the list with outside groups. Also, please allow me to give a tip of the hat to Mary Beth Levin who reminded us of the PACHA letter and asked us to make sure to write to each of you! We hope that you will consider signing on and we look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Bill
2014 and Beyond...
With your support the Maine Harm Reduction Alliance and its allies in the Drug Policy Alliance, the Maine ACLU and others throughout the state lead the charge to pass LD 1686, the Drug Overdose Prevention Bill. Your passion and commitment made this victory possible. But the struggle isn't over yet. This is only the beginning. There is much to be done to bring Maine policy in line with harm reduction philosophy.
Over the next few months the Maine Harm Reduction Alliance will be setting its 2015 legislative agenda. This may include... amending LD 1686 to enable third party distribution, getting naloxone into the right hands at the right time... reintroducing a Good Samaritan law to enable persons using drugs to call 911 in the event of a medical emergency without fear of persecution... pushing for state funding of Syringe Exchange to prevent the spread of HIV, hepatitis C and drug overdose...
But to make a difference on these issues and other, we need your help...
