Fentanyl test kits will be distributed to six Maine police departments in an effort to stop the rising number of fatal drug overdoses in the state.
The test strips will be given to people in Westbrook, South Portland, Biddeford, Kennebunk, Augusta, and Winthrop who use drugs that could be laced with the powerful synthetic opioid.
According to the Press Herald, local and state officials say the strips are a harm reduction tool that can be used in tandem with other resources to try to prevent overdoses while making referrals to recovery programs.
These communities are among the 19 agencies in Maine and Massachusetts chosen to participate in the One2One: Engagement to Recovery program by the Police Assisted Addiction & Recovery Institute, a nonprofit organization that aims to help law enforcement agencies create non-arrest pathways to treatment and recovery.
The following departments will receive the tests:
- Augusta Police Department
- Beverly Police Department
- Biddeford Police Department
- Bourne Police Department
- Braintree Police Department
- Chelsea Police Department
- Haverhill Police Department
- Holyoke Police Department
- Ipswich Police Department
- Kennebunk Police Department
- Lawrence Police Department
- Lynn Police Department
- New Bedford Police Department
- Newburyport Police Department
- Salem Police Department
- South Portland Police Department
- Wareham Police Department
- Westbrook Police Department
- Winthrop Police Department
Like many other states, Maine has seen a sharp rise in overdoses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first monthly report for January 2021 found 58 Maine people died of confirmed or suspected overdoses during the month, which is attributed to an increased availability of lethal opioids, predominantly fentanyl, which was found to be present in nearly 70 percent of confirmed overdose deaths in January.
